Biometric monitoring device with heart rate measurement activated by a single user-gesture

ABSTRACT

A biometric monitoring device having a heart rate sensor for measuring various biometric information is provided. In some embodiments, the biometric monitoring device allows the person to take and/or display a heart rate reading by a simple user interaction with the device, e.g., by simply touching a heart rate sensor surface area, moving the device in a defined motion pattern, or clenching the fist. Some embodiments of this disclosure provide a biometric monitoring device that allows a person to get a quick heart rate reading without removing the device or interrupting their other activities. Some embodiments provide heart rate monitoring with other desirable features such as feedback on data acquisition status.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser.No. 14/154,019, filed Jan. 13, 2014, which is a continuation-in-partapplication of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/924,784, filed Jun. 24,2013, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e)(1) of both U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/662,961, filed Jun. 22, 2012, andU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/752,826, filed Jan. 15, 2013;this application also claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e)(1) ofU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/830,600, filed Jun. 3, 2013.The above-listed applications are hereby incorporated by reference intheir entirety.

BACKGROUND

Recent advances in sensor, electronics, and power source miniaturizationhave allowed the size of personal health monitoring devices, alsoreferred to herein as “biometric tracking” or “biometric monitoring”devices, to be offered in small sizes. These biometric monitoringdevices may collect, derive, and/or provide one or more of the followingtypes of information: heart rate, calorie burn, floors climbed and/ordescended, location and/or heading, elevation, ambulatory speed and/ordistance traveled, etc. One piece of useful physiological informationmeasured by biometric monitoring devices relates to heart rate. Asbiometric monitoring devices are trending to integrate multiple sensorsto measure various types of physiological and environmental information,existing devices that measure momentary heart rate require cumbersomeuser interaction to take the measurement, display the measuredinformation and/or provide other user feedback. This disclosure providesbiometric monitoring devices with convenient and user-friendly heartrate monitoring function.

SUMMARY

Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter describedin this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and thedescription below. Other features, aspects, and advantages will becomeapparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims. Note thatthe relative dimensions of the following figures may not be drawn toscale unless specifically indicated as being scaled drawings.

In some embodiments, the device provides user feedback regarding thecollected heart rate data without requiring further user input beyondactivating the heart rate sensor. Heart rate monitoring activated by asingle user-gesture is desirable. For instance, a single touch of theactivator surface area can provide a signal to activate the heart ratesensor without requiring any other user input. This is advantageousbecause it simplifies the process to activate a heart rate sensor froman off state to an on state. It is desirable to activate the sensor ondemand, because it reduces energy consumption compared to continual,continuous, or regularly intermittent activation. The present inventorshave realized that this energy conservation is important for portabledevices with multiple functions and miniaturized size. Furthermore, thepresent inventors have realized that it is desirable to activate thesensor using only a single user-gesture as opposed to multiple gestures,e.g., separate gestures to turn on the heart rate sensor, start heartrate data collection, provide user feedback based on heart rate data.The simplification of the process to obtain a heart rate measure and/orproviding feedback allows users to obtain heart rate measurement and/orreceive feedback under circumstances that are otherwise impossible,impractical, or inconvenient to obtain the measure and/or receive thefeedback.

In some implementations, an apparatus is provided as a biometricmonitoring device with heart rate measuring function activated by asingle user-gesture. The apparatus may include: one or more biometricsensors comprising a heart rate sensor, an activator of the heart ratesensor, a heart rate sensor surface area through which the heart ratesensor can collect heart rate data from a user, an activator surfacearea through which the activator can receive activation signals from theuser, at least one processor, and a memory. In these implementations,the one or more biometric sensors, the activator, the at least oneprocessor, and the memory are communicatively connected. Furthermore,the memory stores computer-executable instructions for controlling theat least one processor to cause the heart rate sensor to startcollecting heart rate data through the heart rate sensor surface area inresponse to the activator receiving an activation signal through theactivator surface area caused by a single user-gesture. Additionally,the heart rate sensor is configured to automatically stop collectingheart rate data after a defined criterion is met and remain in a statethat does not collect heart rate data until another activation signalcaused by a new user-gesture is received without requiring furtheruser-gestures in addition to the single user-gesture. In someembodiments, the defined criterion is a defined period of time for heartrate data collection or a defined quality of heart rate reading.

In some implementations, a different biometric monitoring device isprovided in an apparatus. In these embodiments, compared to theembodiments described above, the apparatus comprises an optical heartrate sensor instead of a general heart rate sensor, and the apparatusadditionally includes a feedback mechanism. In these embodiments, theoptical heart rate sensor, the activator, the at least one processor,and the memory are communicatively connected. The memory storescomputer-executable instructions for controlling the at least oneprocessor to cause the optical heart rate sensor to start collectingheart rate data through the heart rate sensor surface area in responseto the activator receiving an activation signal through the activatorsurface area caused by a single user-gesture. Furthermore, the apparatusis configured to provide user feedback, through the feedback mechanism,with reference to the collected heart rate data without requiringfurther user-gestures in addition to the single user-gesture.

In some embodiments, the biometric monitoring device further includes analtimeter communicatively connected with the heart rate sensor, theactivator, the at least one processor, and the memory. The memoryfurther stores computer-executable instructions for controlling the atleast one processor to obtain altitude data from the altimeter.

In some embodiments, the heart rate sensor is configured to only collectdata when the single user-gesture is occurring and only from a body partof the user used to provide the single user-gesture.

In some embodiments, the heart rate sensor surface area and theactivator surface area are arranged on a substantially flat plane,thereby allowing a single body part of a user to simultaneously interactwith the activator and the heart rate sensor.

In some embodiments, the memory further stores computer-executableinstructions for controlling the at least one processor to cause theheart rate sensor to stop collecting heart rate data after a definedcriterion is met without requiring further user gestures in addition tothe single user-gesture.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a vibration motoras a feedback mechanism and the feedback to the user is provided ashaptic vibration.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a housing thathouses at least the heart rate sensor and the activator. The heart ratesensor surface area and the activator surface area are on located on thehousing. In various embodiments, they are less than about 2, 1, 0.5,0.2, or 0.1 centimeters apart as measured by the distance along theexterior surface of the housing. This design allows a single body partof a user to simultaneously interact with the activator and the heartrate sensor. In some embodiments, the heart rate sensor surface area andthe activator surface area overlap along the exterior surface of thehousing. In some embodiments, the heart rate sensor surface area and/orthe activator surface area is a seamless portion of the surface of thehousing. In some embodiments, the apparatus has only one heart ratesensor surface area. In other embodiments, the apparatus has two or moreheart rate sensor surface areas. In some embodiments, the heart ratesensor surface area and the activator surface area form one continuoussurface area.

In some embodiments, the activator of the heart rate sensor is aproximity sensor. In some embodiments, the single user-gesture providingthe activation signal to the heart rate sensor activator consists of theuser bringing a body part into proximity with the activator surfacearea.

In some embodiments, the single user-gesture consists of a touch of theactivator surface area using a single body part.

In some embodiments, the apparatus is configured to be removablyattachable to a wearable accessory, and the activator surface area andheart rate sensor surface area are configured to be accessible for userinteraction when attached to the wearable accessory.

In some embodiments, the heart rate sensor, the activator, the at leastone processor, and the memory are communicatively connected to a userinterface on the apparatus. In some embodiments, the heart rate sensor,the activator, the at least one processor, and the memory arecommunicatively connected to a user interface on a linked smartphone,tablet, or computer. In some embodiments, the user interface includesone or more of the following: the heart rate sensor surface area, theactivator surface area, a touch screen, a display, an LED, a button, anaccelerometer, a gyroscope, a finger print reader, a vibration motor, aproximity sensor, and a speaker.

In some implementations, an apparatus is provided as a biometricmonitoring device with heart rate measuring function activated by asingle user-gesture. The apparatus may include: two or more biometricsensors comprising a heart rate sensor and an altimeter, an activator ofthe heart rate sensor, a heart rate sensor surface area through whichthe heart rate sensor can collect heart rate data from a user, at leastone processor, and a memory. The heart rate sensor, the altimeter, theactivator, the at least one processor, and the memory arecommunicatively connected. The memory stores computer-executableinstructions for controlling the at least one processor to cause theheart rate sensor to start collecting heart rate data through the heartrate sensor surface area in response to the activator receiving anactivation signal caused by a single user-gesture. In someimplementations, the memory further stores computer-executableinstructions for controlling the at least one processor to obtainaltitude data from the altimeter. In some implementations, the altitudedata includes atmosphere pressure data or environmental pressure data,or relative changes thereof.

In some implementations, biometric monitoring device includes a heartrate sensor and an electromyographic sensor, a heart rate sensor surfacearea, at least one processor, and a memory. The heart rate sensor, theelectromyographic sensor, the at least one processor, and the memory arecommunicatively connected. The memory stores computer-executableinstructions for controlling the at least one processor to cause theheart rate sensor to start collecting heart rate data through the heartrate sensor surface area in response to the electromyographic sensorreceiving an activation signal caused by a single user-gesture. In someimplementations, the single user-gesture includes clenching the fist ofthe hand wearing the apparatus. In some implementations, the device isconfigured to provide user feedback with reference to the collectedheart rate data without requiring further user-gesture in addition tothe single user-gesture.

In some implementations, an apparatus is provided as a biometricmonitoring device with heart rate measuring function activated by asingle user-gesture. The apparatus may include: one or more biometricsensors comprising an optical heart rate sensor, an activator of theoptical heart rate sensor, a heart rate sensor surface area throughwhich the optical heart rate sensor can collect heart rate data from auser, a feedback mechanism, at least one processor, and a memory. Theoptical heart rate sensor, the activator, the feedback mechanism, the atleast one processor, and the memory are communicatively connected. Insome implementations, instead of or in addition to local memory, theapparatus communicatively connects with a memory remotely linked to theapparatus, such as a memory on a server computer or a smart phone. Thememory stores computer-executable instructions for controlling the atleast one processor to cause the optical heart rate sensor to startcollecting heart rate data through the heart rate sensor surface area inresponse to the activator receiving an activation signal caused by asingle user-gesture. The device is configured to provide user feedback,through the feedback mechanism, with reference to the collected heartrate data without requiring further user-gestures in addition to thesingle user-gesture.

In some implementations, the optical heart rate sensor is configured toautomatically stop collecting heart rate data after a defined criterionis met without requiring further user gestures in addition to the singleuser-gesture. In some implementations, the optical heart rate sensor isconfigured to, after it stops collecting heart rate data, remain in astate that does not collect heart rate data until another activationsignal caused by a new user-gesture is received.

In some implementations, the activator comprises at least one sensorincludes one or more of single-axis or multi-axis gyroscopes and/orsingle-axis or multi-axis accelerometers. The single user-gestureconsists of a user moving or interacting with the apparatus in a definedmotion pattern. The memory further stores computer-executableinstructions for controlling the at least one processor to cause theoptical heart rate sensor to start collecting heart rate data inresponse to a detection of the defined motion pattern using dataobtained by the activator. In some implementations, moving orinteracting with the apparatus in a defined motion pattern is selectedfrom one or more of the following: twisting the wrist wearing theapparatus, shaking the apparatus, bringing a wrist wearing the apparatusfrom a resting position to a watch-viewing position, moving theapparatus in a “figure 8” motion, and any combinations thereof. In someimplementations, the apparatus is configured to be wearable as awrist-band.

In some implementations, the feedback to the user with reference to thecollected heart rate data includes one or more of the following: averageheart rate, minimum heart rate, maximum heart rate, heart ratevariability, heart rate relative to target heart rate zone, heart raterelative to resting heart rate, change in heart rate, decrease in heartrate, increase in heart rate, training advice with reference to heartrate, and a medical condition with reference to heart rate. In someimplementations, the apparatus is configured to automaticallyauthenticate the user based on the collected heart rate data.

In some implementations, the optical heart rate sensor comprises anoptical heart rate sensor for the visible light spectrum. In someimplementations, the optical heart rate sensor comprises an opticalheart rate sensor for infrared light. In some implementations, theoptical heart rate sensor comprises a photoplethysmograph (PPG) sensoror pulse oximetry sensor.

In some implementations, the one or more biometric sensors furtherincludes one or more of the following: GPS, proximity sensor, gyroscope,magnetometer, accelerometer, ambient light sensor, touch screen,temperature sensor, galvanic skin response sensor, fingerprint reader,electromyographic sensor, altimeter, pressure transducer, and forcetransducer, audio sensor, bioelectrical impedance sensor, blood pressuresensor, moisture sensor, and blood glucose sensor. In someimplementations, the apparatus includes a motion sensor providing motiondata to compensate for disruptions caused by arm movements that wouldotherwise interfere with the heart rate data. In some implementations,the apparatus has two or more heart rate sensors.

In some implementations, the apparatus has feedback mechanism includinga display. The feedback to the user is provided as a visual feedbackthrough the display. In some implementations, the visual feedbackthrough the display includes causing the display and/or a displaybacklight to turn on from an off or standby state.

In some implementations, the apparatus is configured to show, throughthe feedback mechanism, information derived from one or more of thefollowing with or without further user input: calorie burn, floorsclimbed and/or descended, location and/or heading, elevation, ambulatoryspeed and/or distance traveled, swimming lap count, bicycle distanceand/or speed, blood pressure, blood glucose, skin conduction, skinand/or body temperature, electromyography data, electroencephalographydata, weight, body fat, caloric intake, nutritional intake from food,medication intake, sleep periods, sleep phases, sleep quality and/orduration, pH levels, hydration levels, and respiration rate, barometricpressure, temperature, humidity, pollen count, air quality, rain/snowconditions, wind speed, ambient light, UV light exposure, time and/orduration spent in darkness, noise exposure, radiation exposure, andmagnetic field.

In some embodiments, the apparatus is configured to provide feedbackindicating that heart rate collection has started, succeeded, ended,and/or failed.

In some embodiments, a method for monitoring heart rate using abiometric monitoring device is provided. In some embodiments, the methodinvolves receiving, by an activator, an activation signal representing asingle user-gesture by a user. The method further involves activating aheart rate sensor, in response to the activation signal, to startcollecting heart rate data from the user. The method also involvesproviding user feedback, through a feedback mechanism, with reference tothe collected heart rate data without requiring further user-gestures inaddition to the single user-gesture. In some embodiments, the userfeedback is provided by haptic vibration. In some embodiments, the userfeedback includes an indication that heart rate data collection issuccessful and/or an indication that heart rate data collection hasfailed. In some embodiments, the user feedback includes one or more ofthe following: average heart rate, minimum heart rate, maximum heartrate, heart rate variability, heart rate relative to target heart ratezone, heart rate relative to resting heart rate, change in heart rate,decrease in heart rate, increase in heart rate, training advice withreference to heart rate, and a medical condition with reference to heartrate.

In some embodiments, the method additionally involves causing the heartrate sensor to stop collecting heart rate data after a defined criterionis met without requiring further user-gestures in addition to the singleuser-gesture. In some embodiments, the method further includes causingthe heart rate sensor to remain in a state that does not collect heartrate data until another activation signal caused by a new user-gestureis received.

In some embodiments, the heart rate sensor only collects data when thesingle user-gesture is occurring and from a body part of the user usedto provide the single user-gesture. In some embodiments, the definedcriterion relates to a time period of heart rate data collection and/orquality of heart rate data collected.

These and other implementations are described in further detail withreference to the Figures and the detailed description below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various implementations disclosed herein are illustrated by way ofexample, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of theaccompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals may refer tosimilar elements.

FIG. 1 depicts a generalized schematic of an example computing devicethat may be used to implement a portable biometric monitoring device orother device with which the heart rate monitoring and various otheroperations described herein may be executed.

FIGS. 2A and 2B depict two examples of biometric monitoring devices withheart rate monitoring function and having a button and a display.

FIG. 3 depicts an example of a wrist-mounted biometric monitoring devicewith heart rate monitoring function having a button, a display, and aband to secure the biometric monitoring device to a user's forearm.

FIG. 4 depicts another example of a wrist-mounted biometric monitoringdevice with heart rate monitoring function having a button, a display, atouch sensitive area, and a band to secure the biometric monitoringdevice to a user's forearm.

FIG. 5 provides another cross-sectional view of a PPG sensor. Of note inthis PPG sensor is the lack of a protrusion. Additionally, a liquidgasket and/or a pressure sensitive adhesive are used to prevent liquidfrom entering the device body.

FIG. 6 provides a view of a portable monitoring device which shows theskin-facing portion of the device. On this side, a sensor protrusion andrecess for mating a charger and/or data transmission cable can be seen.

FIG. 7 provides a cross-sectional view of a portable monitoring device.This cross-section is through the electronics package. Of note are thesensor protrusion, main PCB board and display.

FIG. 8 provides a cross sectional view of a sensor protrusion of aportable monitoring device. Two light sources (e.g. LED's) are placed oneither side of a photodetector to enable PPG sensing. A light-blockingmaterial is placed between the light sources and the photodetector toprevent any light from the light sources from going through the devicebody and being detected by the photodetector. A flexible transparentlayer may be placed on the lower surface of the sensor protrusion toform a seal. This transparent layer may serve other functions such aspreventing liquid from entering the device where the light sources orphotodetectors are placed. This transparent layer may be formed throughin-mold labeling or “IML”. The light sources and photodetector areplaced on a flexible PCB.

FIG. 9 depicts a flow diagram showing a process of a biometricmonitoring device collecting heart rate data and providing feedback withreference to the collected heart rate data.

FIG. 10 depicts a flow diagram showing a process of a biometricmonitoring device collecting heart rate data from the same body partthat has interacted with the device to initiate data collection, andproviding visual feedback showing information derived from the heartrate data.

FIG. 11 depicts a flow diagram showing a process of a biometricmonitoring device collecting heart rate data and providing feedback whendata collection starts and stops.

FIG. 12 illustrates an optimized PPG detector that has a protrusion withcurved sides so as not to discomfort the user. Additionally, the surfaceof light pipes which connect the photodetector and LEDs to the user'sskin are contoured to maximize light flux coupling between the LED's andphotodetectors to the light pipes. The ends of the light pipes whichface the user's skin are also contoured. This contour may providefocusing or defocusing to optimize the PPG signal. For example, thecontour may focus light to a certain depth and location which coincideswith an area where blood flow is likely to occur. Also note that thevertex of these foci overlap or are very close together so that thephotodetector receives the maximum possible amount of scattered light.

FIG. 13 illustrates a PPG sensor which has a light source, lightdetector, ADC, processor, DAC/GPIOs, and light source intensity andon/off control.

FIG. 14 illustrates a PPG sensor similar to that of FIG. 13 whichadditionally uses a sample and hold circuit as well as analog signalconditioning.

FIG. 15 illustrates a PPG having multiple switchable light sources anddetectors, light source intensity/on and off control, and signalconditioning circuitry.

FIG. 16 depicts a person's arm, forearm, and hand with a biometricmonitoring device worn on the forearm.

FIG. 17 depicts a flow diagram for a technique that may be used to causea biometric monitoring device to activate the heart rate sensorresponsive to data received from biometric sensors indicating motion ofdefined patterns.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Introduction

Previously available biometric monitoring devices (BMDs) (also referredto herein as “biometric tracking devices” or simply as “devices”)capable of measuring various types of information tend to use cumbersomeapproaches to gather and provide the information. For instance, abiometric monitoring device (BMD) may require a user to interrupt whatshe is doing to take or display a heart rate measurement. It isdesirable to have heart rate measuring devices that require minimalinvolvement by user in order to obtain on-demand HR measurement. Suchdevices allow the person to take and/or display a heart rate reading bya simple user interaction with the device, e.g., by simply touching aheart rate sensor surface area. Some embodiments of this disclosureprovide biometric monitoring devices that allow a person to get a quickheart rate reading without removing the device or interrupting theirother activities. Some embodiments provide heart rate monitoring withother desirable features. In some implementations, the biometricmonitoring device (BMD) provides heart rate monitoring functions thatare user friendly and simple to perform. In some implementations, asingle user-gesture causes the device to collect heart rate data. Insome embodiments, a single user-gesture also causes the device toprovide feedback to a user with regard to the heart rate data. Variousembodiments with heart rate monitoring functions activated by a singleuser-gesture are further described herein after.

In some implementations, a biometric monitoring device may be designedsuch that it may be inserted into, and removed from, a plurality ofcompatible cases/housings/holders, e.g., a wristband that may be worn ona person's forearm or a belt clip case that may be attached to aperson's clothing. In some embodiments, the biometric monitoring systemmay also include other devices or components communicatively linked tothe biometric monitoring device. The communicative linking may involvedirect or indirect connection, as well as wired and wirelessconnections. Components of said system may communicate to one anotherover a wireless connection (e.g. Bluetooth) or a wired connection (e.g.USB). Indirect communication refers to the transmission of data betweena first device and a secondary device with the aid of one or multipleintermediary third devices which relay the data.

FIG. 1 depicts a generalized schematic of an example portable biometricmonitoring device, also simply referred to herein as “biometricmonitoring device,” or other device with which the various operationsdescribed herein may be executed. The portable biometric monitoringdevice 102 may include a processing unit 106 having one or moreprocessors, a memory 108, a user interface 104, one or more biometricsensors 110, and input/output 112. The processing unit 106, the memory108, the user interface 104, the one or more biometric sensors 110, andthe input/output interface 112 may be communicatively connected viacommunications path(s) 114. It is to be understood that some of thesecomponents may also be connected with one another indirectly. In someembodiments, components of FIG. 1 may be implemented as an externalcomponent communicatively linked to other internal components. Forinstance, in one embodiment, the memory 108 may be implemented as amemory on a secondary device such as a computer or smart phone thatcommunicates with the device wirelessly or through wired connection viathe I/O interface 112. In another embodiment, the User Interface mayinclude some components on the device such as a button, as well ascomponents on a secondary device communicatively linked to the devicevia the I/O interface 112, such as a touch screen on a smart phone.

The portable biometric monitoring device may collect one or more typesof biometric data, e.g., data pertaining to physical characteristics ofthe human body (such as heartbeat, perspiration levels, etc.) and/ordata relating to the physical interaction of that body with theenvironment (such as accelerometer readings, gyroscope readings, etc.),from the one or more sensors 110 and/or external devices (such as anexternal blood pressure monitor). In some embodiments, the one or moresensors 110 include a heart rate sensor that is configured to beactivated by an activator 116 of the heart rate sensor. In someembodiments, the activator 116 is also a biometric sensor, such as anaccelerometer serving as both an activator of the heart rate sensor andas a motion sensor. In other embodiments, the activator may be asingle-purpose device, e.g., a touch sensor or button. The activator, ingeneral, is a mechanism through which a user input or activation signalmay be received or recognized by the device in order to initiate heartrate measurement via the heart rate sensor. In some embodiments, thedevice stores collected information in memory 108 for later use, e.g.,for communication to another device via the I/O interface 112, e.g., asmartphone or to a server over a wide-area network such as the Internet.

Biometric information, as used herein, refers to information relating tothe measurement and analysis of physical or behavioral characteristicsof human or animal subjects. Some biometric information describes therelation between the subject and the external environment, such asaltitude or course of a subject. Other biometric information describesthe subject's physical condition without regard to the externalenvironment, such as the subject's heart rate. The informationconcerning the subject is generally referred to as biometricinformation. Similarly, sensors for collecting the biometric informationare referred to herein as biometric sensors. In contrast, informationabout the external environment regardless of the subject's condition isreferred to as environmental information, and sensors for collectingsuch information are referred to herein as environmental sensors. It isworth noting that sometimes the same sensor may be used to obtain bothbiometric information and environmental information. For instance, alight sensor worn by the user may function as part of aphotoplethysmography (PPG) sensor that gathers biometric informationbased on the reflection of light from the subject (such light mayoriginate from a light source in the device that is configured toilluminate the portion of the person that reflects the light). The samelight sensor may also gather information regarding ambient light whenthe device is not illuminating the portion of the person. In thisdisclosure, the distinctions between biometric and non-biometricinformation and sensors are drawn for organizational purposes only. Thisdistinction is not essential to the disclosure, unless specifiedotherwise.

The processing unit 106 may also perform an analysis on the stored dataand may initiate various actions depending on the analysis. For example,the processing unit 106 may determine that the data stored in the memory108 indicates that a goal threshold has been reached and may thendisplay content on a display of the portable BMD celebrating theachievement of the goal. The display may be part of the user interface104 (as may be a button or other control, not pictured, that may be usedto control a functional aspect of the portable biometric monitoringdevice). In some embodiments, the user interface 104 includes componentsin or on the device. In some embodiments, the user interface 104 alsoincludes components external from the device that are nonethelesscommunicatively linked to the device. For instance, a smartphone or acomputer communicatively linked to the BMD may provide user interfacecomponents through which a user can interact with the BMD.

In general, BMDs may incorporate one or more types of user interfacesincluding but not limited to visual, auditory, touch/vibration, orcombinations thereof. The BMD may, for example, display informationrelating to one or more of the data types available and/or being trackedby the biometric monitoring device through, for example, a graphicaldisplay or through the intensity and/or color of one or more LEDs. Theuser interface may also be used to display data from other devices orinternet sources. The device may also provide haptic feedback through,for instance, the vibration of a motor or a change in texture or shapeof the device. In some implementations, the biometric sensors themselvesmay be used as part of the user interface, e.g., accelerometer sensorsmay be used to detect when a person taps the housing of the biometricmonitoring unit with a finger or other object and may then interpretsuch data as a user input for the purposes of controlling the biometricmonitoring device. For example, moving the BMD in a “figure 8” motion ordouble tapping the BMD may be recognized by the biometric monitoringdevice as a user input that will cause the display of the biometricmonitoring device to turn on from an off state or that will cause thebiometric monitoring device to transition between different monitoringstates, e.g., transitioning a heart rate sensor from an “off” to an “on”state.

In one example, while the user is wearing the biometric monitoringdevice 102, the biometric monitoring device 102 may measure and store auser's heart rate while the user is wearing the biometric monitoringdevice 102 and then subsequently transmit data representative of heartrate to the user's account on a web service like fitbit dot com, to amobile computational device, e.g., a phone, paired with the portablebiometric monitoring unit, and/or to a standalone computer where thedata may be stored, processed, and visualized by the user. Such datatransmission may be carried out via communications through I/O interface112. The device can also derive and/or provide information related toheart rate, such as average heart rate, minimum heart rate, maximumheart rate, heart rate variability, heart rate relative to target heartrate zone, heart rate relative to resting heart rate, change in heartrate, heart rate recovery, training advice with reference to heart rate,a medical condition with reference to heart rate. In addition, thedevice may measure, calculate, or use a plurality of other physiologicalmetrics other than the user's heart rate. These include, but are notlimited to, step count, caloric energy expenditure, floors climbed ordescended, location and/or heading (e.g., through GPS), elevation,ambulatory speed and/or distance traveled, swimming lap count, bicycledistance and/or speed, blood pressure, blood glucose, skin conduction,skin and/or body temperature, electromyography data,electroencephalographic data, weight, body fat, and respiration rate.Some of this data may be provided to the biometric monitoring devicefrom an external source, e.g., the user may input their height, weight,and stride in a user profile on a fitness-tracking website and suchinformation may then be communicated to the biometric monitoring devicevia the I/O interface 112 and used to evaluate, in tandem with datameasured by the sensors 110, the distance traveled or calories burned bythe user. The device may also measure or calculate metrics related tothe environment around the user such as barometric pressure, weatherconditions, light exposure, noise exposure, and magnetic field.

As mentioned previously, collected biometric data from the biometricmonitoring device may be communicated to external devices through thecommunications or I/O interface 112. The I/O or communications interfacemay include wireless communication functionality so that when thebiometric monitoring device comes within range of a wireless basestation or access point, the stored data automatically uploads to anInternet-viewable source such as a website, e.g., fitbit dot com. Thewireless communications functionality may be provided using one or morecommunications technologies known in the art, e.g., Bluetooth, RFID,Near-Field Communications (NFC), Zigbee, Ant, optical data transmission,etc. The biometric monitoring device may also contain wiredcommunication capability, e.g., USB.

Other implementations regarding the use of short range wirelesscommunication are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/785,904, titled “Near Field Communication System, and Method ofOperating Same” filed Mar. 5, 2013 which is hereby incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

It is to be understood that FIG. 1 illustrates a generalizedimplementation of a biometric monitoring device 102 that may be used toimplement a portable biometric monitoring device or other device inwhich the various operations described herein may be executed. It is tobe understood that in some implementations, the functionalityrepresented in FIG. 1 may be provided in a distributed manner between,for example, an external sensor device and communication device, e.g.,an external blood pressure meter that may communicate with a biometricmonitoring device.

Moreover, it is to be understood that in addition to storing programcode for execution by the processing unit to effect the various methodsand techniques of the implementations described herein, the memory 108may also store configuration data or other information used during theexecution of various programs or instruction sets or used to configurethe biometric monitoring device. The memory 108 may also store biometricdata collected by the biometric monitoring device. In some embodiments,the memory may be distributed on more than one devices, e.g., spanningboth the BMD and an external computer connected through the I/O 112. Insome embodiments, the memory may be exclusively located on an externaldevice. With regard to the memory architecture, for example, multipledifferent classes of storage may be provided within the memory 108 tostore different classes of data. For example, the memory 108 may includenon-volatile storage media such as fixed or removable magnetic, optical,or semiconductor-based media to store executable code and related dataand/or volatile storage media such as static or dynamic RAM to storemore transient information and other variable data.

It is to be further understood that the processing unit 106 may beimplemented by a general or special purpose processor (or set ofprocessing cores) and thus may execute sequences of programmedinstructions to effectuate the various operations associated with sensordevice syncing, as well as interaction with a user, system operator orother system components. In some implementations, the processing unitmay be an application-specific integrated circuit.

Though not shown, numerous other functional blocks may be provided aspart of the biometric monitoring device 102 according to other functionsit may be required to perform, e.g., environmental sensingfunctionality, etc. Other functional blocks may provide wirelesstelephony operations with respect to a smartphone and/or wirelessnetwork access to a mobile computing device, e.g., a smartphone, tabletcomputer, laptop computer, etc. The functional blocks of the biometricmonitoring device 102 are depicted as being coupled by the communicationpath 114 which may include any number of shared or dedicated buses orsignaling links. More generally, however, the functional blocks shownmay be interconnected using a variety of different architectures and maybe implemented using a variety of different underlying technologies andarchitectures. The various methods and techniques disclosed herein maybe implemented through execution of one or more a sequences ofinstructions, e.g., software programs, by the processing unit 106 or bya custom-built hardware ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit)or programmed into a programmable hardware device such as an FPGA(field-programmable gate array), or any combination thereof within orexternal to the processing unit 106.

Further implementations of portable biometric monitoring devices can befound in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/156,304, titled “PortableBiometric Monitoring Devices and Methods of Operating Same” filed Jun.8, 2011, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

In some implementations, the biometric monitoring device may includecomputer-executable instructions for controlling one or more processorsof the biometric monitoring device to obtain biometric data from one ormore biometric sensors. The instructions may also control the one ormore processors to receive a request, e.g., an input from a button ortouch interface on the biometric monitoring device, a particular patternof biometric sensor data (e.g., a double-tap reading), etc., to displayan aspect of the obtained biometric data on a display of the biometricmonitoring device. The aspect may be a numerical quantity, a graphic, orsimply an indicator (a goal progress indicator, for example). In someimplementations, the display may be an illuminable display so as to bevisible when displaying data but otherwise invisible to a casualobserver. The instructions may also cause the one or more processors tocause the display to turn on from an off state in order to display theaspect of the biometric data. The instructions may also cause thedisplay to turn off from an on state after a predefined time periodelapses without any user interaction with the biometric monitoringdevice; this may assist in conserving power.

Due to the small size of many biometric monitoring devices, manybiometric monitoring devices may have limited space to accommodatevarious user interface components. For example, Fitbit makes a varietyof extremely compact biometric tracking units that each incorporates abiometric sensor suite, a battery, a display of some sort, a charginginterface, and one or more wireless communications interfaces. In somesuch examples, the biometric tracking units also incorporate avibramotor and/or a button. These components may be housed, for example,within housings measuring approximately 2″ long, 0.75″ wide, and 0.5″thick (Fitbit ULTRA™); approximately 1.9″ in length, 0.75″ wide, and0.375″ thick (Fitbit ONE™); approximately 1.4″ long, 1.1″ wide, and0.375″ thick (Fitbit ZIP™); and approximately 1.3″ in length, 0.5″ wide,and 0.25″ thick (Fitbit FLEX™). Of course, housings of other sizes maybe used in other implementations of biometric monitoring devices; theabove list is merely intended to illustrate the small size of many suchbiometric monitoring devices.

Despite the small sizes of the above-listed Fitbit devices, eachincludes a display of some type—the Fitbit ULTRA™, Fitbit ONE™, andFitbit ZIP™, for example, all include small pixelated display screenscapable of outputting text, numbers, and graphics. The Fitbit FLEX™, dueto its smaller size, uses discrete light-emitting diode (LED)indicators, e.g., 5 LEDs arranged in a row, to convey informationvisually. Each of the above-listed Fitbit devices also has an inputmechanism that allows a user to affect some aspect of the device'soperation. For example, the Fitbit ULTRA™ and Fitbit ONE™ each include adiscrete pushbutton that allows a user to affect how the deviceoperates. The Fitbit ZIP™ and Fitbit FLEX™, by contrast, do not have adiscrete pushbutton but are instead each configured to detect, usingtheir biometric sensors, when the user taps the housing of the device;such events are construed by the processor or processors of such devicesas signaling a user input, i.e., acting as the input mechanism. In someimplementations of biometric monitoring devices described herein, thebiometric monitoring devices may have only one mechanism, e.g.,biometric sensors, for receiving input from a wearer (other thanwireless or wired links to other devices). In some otherimplementations, the biometric monitoring device may include only onemechanism, e.g., a touch sensitive area, other than the biometricsensors in the biometric monitoring device for receiving input from awearer. For instance, in some embodiments, the biometric monitoringdevice includes a heart rate sensor and a touch sensitive area. Thetouch sensitive area functions as an activator for the heart ratesensor, such that when a user touches the area, an activation signal isdetected, which triggers the heart rate sensor to collect heart raterelated data from the user. In some embodiments, the heart rate relateddata is collected through the same touch sensitive area, such that asingle touch-and-hold user gesture triggers the data collection andallows data to be collected from the body part that triggers the datacollection.

In some implementations, one or more components of 102 may bedistributed across multiple devices, forming a biometric monitoringsystem 102 spanning multiple devices. Such implementations are alsoconsidered to be within the scope of this disclosure. For instance, theuser interface 104 on a first device may not have any mechanism forreceiving physical input from a wearer, but the user interface 104 mayinclude a component on a second, paired device, e.g., a smart phone,that communicates wirelessly with the first device. The user interface104 on the smart phone allows a user to provide input to the firstdevice, such as providing user names and current location. Similarly, insome implementations, a biometric monitoring device may not have anydisplay at all, i.e., be unable to display any biometric datadirectly—biometric data from such biometric monitoring devices mayinstead be communicated to a paired electronic device, e.g., asmartphone, wirelessly and such biometric data may then be displayed ondata display screens shown on the paired electronic device. Suchimplementations are also considered to be within the scope of thisdisclosure, i.e., such a paired electronic device may act as a componentof the biometric monitoring system 102 configured to communicate withbiometric sensors located internal or external to the paired electronicdevice (such biometric sensors may be located in a separate module wornelsewhere on the wearer's body).

Single-Gesture Heart Rate Monitoring

In some embodiments, the biometric monitoring device provides a heartrate monitoring function requiring only a single user-gesture in orderto collect heart rate data. In some embodiments, the heart ratemonitoring function initiates heart rate data collection in response toa single user-gesture. In some embodiments, the device provides userfeedback regarding the collected heart rate data without requiringfurther user input. The present inventors have realized that heart ratemonitoring activated by a single user-gesture is desirable. As usedherein, a “single user-gesture” is an action of a user relative to asingle part of the apparatus, wherein the action is interpreted by theapparatus as a single behavioral pattern. Examples of a singleuser-gesture includes, but are not limited to, a single touch of asurface of an apparatus, touching and holding a button, a double tap onthe same part of a device that is interpreted as a single behavioralpattern indicating a single command, shaking of the device, moving thedevice in a certain trajectory, e.g., a “figure 8” trajectory, staringat the apparatus or a particular portion of the apparatus (when theapparatus has gaze detection function), bringing a body part intoproximity with the apparatus, bringing an arm wearing a wristband-typeBMD from a downwards-extended position to a viewing position, twistingthe wrist wearing a BMD implemented as wrist band, etc. One example thatis not a single user-gesture is touching a button of a device twicewherein each touch is interpreted by the device as a separate behavioralpattern, each pattern indicating a command, e.g., a command to activatea function or advance a display from one screen of information to anext. Another example of an action that is not a single user-gesture istouching two different parts of a device, for example, touching a buttonwith one body part while touching a sensor component with another bodypart (or touching two separate sensor components with two different bodyparts). Yet another example of an action that is not a singleuser-gesture or interaction is to scroll through a touch screen and thentap an icon or contact the device to activate data collection. It isalso to be understood that the mere act of normally wearing a BMD is nota “user-gesture” as used herein, e.g., strapping or wearing a wristbandBMD onto one's wrist is not a user-gesture as used herein.

As mentioned above, various implementations of portable biometricmonitoring devices described herein may have shapes and sizes adaptedfor coupling to the body or clothing of a user (e.g., secured to, worn,borne by, etc.). Various examples of such portable biometric monitoringdevices are shown in FIGS. 2-5. FIGS. 2A-2B depict two biometricmonitoring devices 200 and 201 similar in shape to a Fitbit ONE™, whichmay be inserted into a holder with a belt clip or into a pocket on awristband. As used herein, the term “wristband” may refer to a band thatis designed to fully or partially encircle a person's forearm near thewrist joint. The band may be continuous, e.g., without any breaks (itmay stretch to fit over a person's hand or have an expanding portionsimilar to a dress watchband), or may be discontinuous, e.g., having aclasp or other connection allowing the band to be closed similar to awatchband or may be simply open, e.g., having a C-shape that clasps thewearer's wrist.

Biometric monitoring device 200 in FIG. 2A includes a housing 202 thatcontains the electronics associated with the biometric monitoringdevices 200. Among other sensors, the housing 202 includes a heart ratesensor and an activator of the heart rate sensor. The heart rate sensoris an optical sensor such as the optical sensor assembly 500 shown inFIG. 5. The optical sensor may be configured as a photoplethysmography(PPG) sensor or pulse oximetry sensor. The activator can be a pressureor touch sensitive sensor, e.g., capacitive touch, resistive touch,ultrasonic touch, etc., or a proximity sensor, e.g., infrared,capacitive, etc., as described in the sensor section of the disclosure.Notably, the heart rate sensor collects data through a heart rate sensorsurface area located in the area of button 204. Therefore, the buttonhas a surface that is optically transparent for the optical sensor,e.g., infrared transparent for an infrared sensor. Furthermore, theactivator receives input through an activator surface area, which alsois located in the area of button 204. The collocation of the sensorsurface area and the activator surface area allows the same body partthat touches button 204 to provide activation signal to the activatorand heart rate related blood volume signal to the optical sensor. Thisis design allows a single user-gesture of pressing the button 204 tosend an activation signal to the activator, which causes the heart ratesensor to collect heart rate data from the same body part that pressesthe button 204, eliminating the complication of using multiple usergestures to activate the heart rate sensor and to provide physiologicaldata to the sensor. Biometric monitoring device 200 also includes adisplay 206 that may be accessible/visible through the housing 202. Insome embodiments, the display automatically shows measured heart raterelated information without requiring further user input. This furthersimplifies the user experience to get a heart rate reading. Biometricmonitoring devices 200 and 201 are similar except that device 200 has abutton 204 for user input, while device 201 has a touch sensitivesurface 205 that merges seamlessly with the device housing 202. Thetouch sensitive surface 205 provides a signal path for an activator,such as an IR-based proximity detector or a capacitive touch/proximitydetector.

When the heart rate sensor that is used in such embodiments is a PPGsensor (or other single-point-of-measurement heart rate sensor), thensuch embodiments may not only initiate heart rate collection responsiveto a single user-gesture, but they may also allow for the collection ofheart rate data without any further interaction of the user with thedevice. This is because a PPG sensor may detect heart rate throughtaking measurements from a single body part, e.g., a wrist or a finger.In contrast, an electrocardiograph (EKG) heart rate sensor requires thatmeasurements be taken from multiple electrodes, each in contact with adifferent part of the body. Thus, a PPG-based embodiment may beparticularly well-suited to measuring data from a single user-gestureand a single body part. While an EKG-based embodiment may be able toinitiate a measurement based on a single gesture, it requires contact ofmultiple body parts (usually on opposite sides of the heart from oneanother) with the EKG sensor electrodes in order to function. Thus, if auser wished to take a heart rate measurement while the device is intheir pocket, they would easily be able to do so with a PPG-based,single gesture heart rate measurement device, but would find it verydifficult or impossible to do so with an EKG-based, single gesture heartrate measurement device since they would be unable to fit two both handsin their pocket (and would look ungainly in trying to do so).

In some embodiments, the heart rate sensor surface area and theactivator surface area are less than 2, or less than 1, or less than 0.5centimeters apart as measured by the distance along the exterior surfaceof the housing, thereby allowing a single body part of a user tosimultaneously interact with the activator and the heart rate sensor. Insome embodiments, the heart rate sensor surface area and the activatorsurface area overlap as measured by the distance along the exteriorsurface of the housing. In some embodiments, the heart rate sensorsurface area seamlessly joins the surface of the housing. In someembodiments, the activator surface area seamlessly joins the surface ofthe housing. In some embodiments, the apparatus has only one heart ratesensor surface area. In other embodiments, the apparatus has two or moreheart rate sensor surface areas and two or more heart rate sensors.

In some embodiments, the heart rate sensor surface area and theactivator surface area are arranged on a substantially flat plane or anominally common surface, thereby allowing a single body part of a userto simultaneously interact with the activator and the heart rate sensor.Many BMDs feature “organic” shapes, e.g., smoothly rounded or blendedexterior surfaces, which may make it difficult to define where onesurface begins and another ends. Thus, it may be more useful to describea nominally common surface in the negative—for example, surfaces that,for the most part, face in completely opposite directions (e.g., a frontsurface and a back surface) are not, for the purposes of thisdisclosure, considered to be a nominally common surface. The term“substantially flat plane” may refer to both a true flat plane as wellas a smoothly-curved surface that is largely free of drastic curvature(the display and button area of a Fitbit One™ BMD provides one exampleof a “substantially flat plane.”

FIG. 3 depicts a biometric monitoring device that may be worn on aperson's forearm like a wristwatch, much like a Fitbit FLEX™ or FORCE™.Biometric monitoring device 300 has a housing 302 that contains theelectronics associated with the biometric monitoring device 300. Abutton 304 and a display 306 may be accessible/visible through thehousing 302. A wristband 308 may be integrated with the housing 302. Insome embodiments, the button 304 may be implemented similarly as thebutton 204 of FIG. 2A, which provides a mechanism to activate a heartrate sensor to collect heart rate data in response to a singleuser-gesture. In some embodiments, the display 306 may be implementedsimilarly as the touch sensitive surface 205 of FIG. 2B, providing amechanism to activate a heart rate sensor to collect heart rate data inresponse to a single user-gesture.

FIG. 4 depicts another example of a biometric monitoring device that maybe worn on a person's forearm like a wristwatch, although with a biggerdisplay than the biometric monitoring device of FIG. 3. Biometricmonitoring device 400 has a housing 402 that contains the electronicsassociated with the biometric monitoring device 400. A button 404 and adisplay 406 may be accessible/visible through the housing 402. Awristband 408 may be integrated with the housing 402, which includes atouch sensitive area 410 similar to the touch sensitive area 205described above, providing a mechanism to activate a heart rate sensorto collect heart rate data in response to a single user-gesture. In someembodiments, the button 404 may be implemented in the same manner as thebutton of 204, providing a mechanism to activate a heart rate sensor tocollect heart rate data in response to a single user-gesture.

In some embodiments such as those shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the biometricmonitoring devices include an optical sensor under a flat optical sensorarea. FIG. 5 shows one implementation of such an optical sensor. Theoptical sensor includes two LEDs 504 as light sources. The opticalsensor also includes a photodetector 502. An optically transparent layercovers the LEDs 504 in the photo detector 502, providing protection tothe elements. The optically transparent layer 508 serves as the sensorsurface area through which the photodetector collects heart rate data.Furthermore, the optically transparent layer also serves as theactivator surface area, through which an activation signal indicating asingle user gesture can be detected by activator. In some embodiments,the photodetector 502 can function as an activator by detecting ambientlight, wherein an ambient light drop indicates the user has covered theactivator surface area. Upon such signal, the LEDs 504 are activated toemit light, and the photodetector collects reflection from the user'sskin and tissue indicating heart rate information. In other embodiments,a separate sensor is implemented as the activator, such as an infraredproximity sensor or a capacitive touch sensor (not shown).

In addition to the optical sensor elements, the biometric monitoringdevice also includes a printed circuit board (PCB) 510, atop which thephotodetector 502 and the LEDs 504 reside. In some embodiments, theoptically transparent layer 508 is secured to the device body 512 bypressure sensitive adhesives 516 and liquid gaskets 514. In otherembodiments, the optically transparent layer is seamlessly merged withthe top layer of the device body (not shown). This latter embodimentprovides a more aesthetic appearance and a better seal, but it will notallow the optically transparent layer 508 to depress relative to thedevice body.

The biometric monitoring device is adapted to be worn or carried on thebody of a user. In some embodiments including the optical heart ratemonitor, the device may be a wrist-worn or arm-mounted accessory such asa watch or bracelet. In one embodiment, optical elements of the opticalheart rate sensor are located on the interior or skin side of thebiometric monitoring device, for example, in a sensor protrusion 614facing and adjacent to the top of the wrist when the device 600 of FIG.6 is wrist mounted. Biometric monitoring device 600 also includes adevice housing 602, buttons 604 that are similar to button 204 of FIG.4, which is implemented as a mechanism for collecting data in responseto a single user-gesture. Furthermore, biometric monitoring device 600also includes securing method 612 such as a hook and loop or clasp. Thedevice also includes an attachment band 608 and a charger mating recess616.

In some embodiments, the optical heart rate monitor is located on one ormore external surfaces of the biometric monitoring device that do notsubstantially contact the wearer's body when worn, such as the one ormore buttons 604 of device 600. In this embodiment, the user may touchan optical window on a button 604 (behind which optical elements of theoptical heart rate monitor are located) with a finger on the opposinghand to initiate a heart rate measurement (and/or other metrics relatedto heart rate such as heart rate variability) and/or collect data whichmay be used to determine the user's heart rate (and/or other metricsrelated to heart rate) In some embodiments, a biometric monitoringdevice need not be worn on the wrist in order to engage the heart ratemeasurement since the heart rate may be obtained through the singleuser-interaction with the button). In one embodiment, the biometricmonitoring device 600 may trigger or initiate the measurement(s) bydetecting a (sudden) drop in incident light on the photodiode—forexample, when the user's finger is placed over the optical window. Inthis embodiment, the incident light sensor functions as the activator ofthe heart rate sensor. In addition thereto, or in lieu thereof, a heartrate measurement (or other such metric) may be trigged by an IR-basedproximity detector and/or capacitive touch/proximity detector (which maybe separate from other detectors) functioning as activator of the heartrate sensor. Such IR-based proximity detector and/or capacitivetouch/proximity detector may be disposed in or on and/or functionally,electrically and/or physically coupled to the optical window to detector determine the presence of a single user-gesture, such as a fingertouching or in proximity of the buttons 604.

In one embodiment, the biometric monitoring device may include a buttonwhich, when depressed, triggers or initiates heart rate measurement(and/or other metrics related to heart rate). The button may be disposedin close proximity of the optical window to facilitate the user pressingthe button while the finger is disposed on the optical window. In oneembodiment, the optical window may be embedded in a push button. Thus,when the user presses the button, it could trigger a measurement via theuser's finger which depresses the button. Indeed, the button may begiven a shape and/or resistance to pressing that enhances or optimizes apressure profile against the finger to provide high SNR duringmeasurement or data acquisition. In other embodiments (not illustrated),the biometric monitoring device may take the form of a clip, smoothobject, pendant, anklet, belt, etc. that is adapted to be worn on thebody, clipped or mounted to an article of clothing, deposited inclothing (e.g., pocket), or deposited in an accessory (e.g., handbag).

In one specific embodiment, the biometric monitoring device includes aprotrusion 614 on the skin- or interior-side of the device. Whencontacting the user, the protrusion 614 engages the skin with more forcethan the surrounding device body. In this embodiment, an optical windowor light transmissive structure may form or be incorporated in a portionof the protrusion. The light emitter(s) and/or detector(s) of theoptical sensor may be disposed or arranged in the protrusion juxtaposedthe window or light transmissive structure. As such, when attached tothe user's body, the window portion of the protrusion of the biometricmonitoring device engages the user's skin with more force than thesurrounding device body—thereby providing a more secure physicalconnection between the user's skin and the optical window. That is, aprotrusion improves sustained contact between the biometric monitoringdevice and the user's skin which may reduce the amount of stray lightmeasured by the photodetector, decrease motion between the biometricmonitoring device and the user, and/or provide improved local pressureto the user's skin; all of which may increase the quality of the cardiacsignal of interest. Notably, the protrusion may contain other sensorsthat benefit from close proximity and/or secure contact to the user'sskin. These may be included in addition to or in lieu of a heart ratesensor and include sensors such as a skin temperature sensor (e.g.,noncontact thermopile that utilizes the optical window or thermistorjoined with thermal epoxy to the outer surface of the protrusion), pulseoximeter, blood pressure sensor, EMG, or galvanic skin response (GSR)sensor.

FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of biometric monitoring device 600,revealing the interior of the protrusion 614, a printed circuit board(PCB) 620, and a display 622. FIG. 8 shows further details of elementsof the optical sensor of biometric monitoring device of 600. The opticalsensor includes a photodetector 626, and two LEDs 628 as light sources.It also includes protective transparent layer 630 covering andprotecting the photodetectors 626 and the LEDs 628. Light blockingmaterial 632 fills the space around the LEDs 628 and the photodetector626. The flexible PCB 624 sits atop LEDs 628 and photodetector 626.

In some embodiments, the biometric monitoring devices use process 900shown in the flow chart of FIG. 9 to collect heart rate data and providefeedback with reference to the collected heart rate in response to asingle user-gesture. In some embodiments, the device determines if theactivator receives an activation signal indicating a singleuser-gesture. See block 910. In some embodiments, the activation signalis collected through an activation surface area as described above. Inother embodiments, the activation signal was collected by sensor withoutrequiring an activator surface area, such as in the case of a motionsensor or electromyography sensor as described further below. Upon theactivation signal, the device causes the heart rate sensor to startcollecting heart rate data through the heart rate sensor surface area.See block 920. Furthermore, the device automatically provides userfeedback relating to the collected heart rate data through the feedbackmechanism. In some embodiments, the feedback may indicate the start,end, or failure of collecting heart rate data. In some embodiments, thefeedback may include heart rate and/or related information. The feedbackis provided without requiring further user-gesture in addition to thesingle user-gesture. See block 930.

In some embodiments, a biometric monitoring device includes one or morebiometric sensors comprising an optical heart rate sensor, an activatorof the heart rate sensor, a heart rate sensor surface area through whichthe heart rate sensor can collect heart rate data from a user, afeedback mechanism such as a display or LEDs, at least one processor,and a memory. The heart rate sensor, the activator, the feedbackmechanism, the at least one processor, and the memory arecommunicatively connected. The memory stores computer-executableinstructions for controlling the at least one processor to cause theheart rate sensor to start collecting heart rate data through the heartrate sensor surface area in response to the activator receiving anactivation signal caused by a single user-gesture. The activator may beimplemented as, for instance, a motion sensor that detects a definedmotion pattern of the device, or touch/pressure sensor that detects atouch of a surface or a button press. The processor also provides userfeedback with reference to the collected heart rate data through thefeedback mechanism without requiring further user-gesture in addition tothe single user-gesture. In some embodiments, the feedback may include avibration pattern generated by a vibration motor to indicate that heartrate collection has started, ended, and/or failed.

In some embodiments, the biometric monitoring devices may use process1000 shown in the flow chart of FIG. 10 to collect heart rate data andprovide feedback with reference to the collected heart rate in responseto a single user-gesture. The method 1000 is a special case of method900, in that the activation signal is received through an actuatorsurface area, and that feedback is provided through a display.Therefore, the activator may be implemented as a touch or proximitysensor. In some embodiments, the device determines if the activatorreceives an activation signal through the activator surface area causedby a single user-gesture. See block 1010. Upon the activation signal,the device causes the heart rate sensor to start collecting heart ratedata through the heart rate sensor surface area. See block 1020.Furthermore, the device automatically provides visual feedback relatingto the collected heart rate data through a display. In some embodiments,providing a visual feedback through a display may comprise causing thedisplay and/or a display backlight to turn on from an off state. In someembodiments, the feedback includes one or more of the following: averageheart rate, minimum heart rate, maximum heart rate, heart ratevariability, heart rate relative to target heart rate zone, heart raterelative to resting heart rate, change in heart rate, decrease in heartrate, increase in heart rate, training advice with reference to heartrate, a medical condition with reference to heart rate. The feedback isprovided without requiring further user-gesture in addition to thesingle user-gesture. See block 1030.

In some embodiments implementing method 1000, the heart rate sensorinvolved is an optical sensor. In some embodiments, only one heart ratesensor surface area is required. To implement the method of 1000, abiometric monitoring device needs (i) a heart rate sensor surface areathrough which the heart rate sensor can collect heart rate data from auser and (ii) an activator surface area through which the activator canreceive activation signals from the user, along with other componentssimilar to the implementation of method 900. Notably, theseimplementations require a single user gesture to activate the heart ratesensor and to allow data collection using the sensor. Therefore someembodiments provide a closely-located or collocated hear rate sensorsurface area and activator surface area, which allows a user to touchthe activator surface area using a single body part, e.g., a finger,which triggers the heart rate sensor to collect data from the same bodypart.

In some embodiments, biometric monitoring devices may use process 1100shown in the flow chart of FIG. 11 to collect heart rate data andprovide feedback regarding the collected heart rate in response to asingle user-gesture. The method 1100 is a special case of method 900, inthat feedback is provided regarding the start and stop of datacollection, and that heart rate sensor automatically stops. In someembodiments, the device determines if the activator receives anactivation signal caused by a single user-gesture. See block 1110. Uponreceiving the activation signal, the device causes the heart rate sensorto start collecting heart rate data through the heart rate sensorsurface area. See block 1120. Furthermore, the device automaticallyprovides user feedback indicating that heart rate data collection hasstarted, e.g., by a single vibration. See block 1130. The feedback isprovided without requiring further user-gesture in addition to thesingle user-gesture. Then the device automatically stops the heart ratesensor from collecting further data after one or more criteria are met,thereby minimizing battery consumption, block 1140. In some embodiments,the device automatically stops data collection after a set period oftime, such as about 3 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 40seconds, 1 minute, or 2 minutes. In some embodiments, the deviceautomatically stops array data collection after a reliable heart ratereading is obtained. In some embodiments, the device further providesfeedback indicating that heart rate data collection has succeeded, e.g.by a double vibration. In some embodiments, the device provides feedbackindicating that heart rate data collection has failed and stopped, e.g.by a triple vibration.

In some alternative embodiments, the BMD stops or early terminates datacollection in response to a new user gesture (e.g. twisting a handwearing the BMD) or change of user gesture (lifting the finger pressinga sensor surface area). In some embodiments, the BMD provides feedbackin manners that vary from the process of 1100. For instance, instead ofusing an active feedback to indicate a failure of data collection, theabsence of feedback for a successful data collection indicates thefailure of data collection. In some further embodiments, the onlyfeedback that may be provided to the user is that a successful heartrate measurement has been obtained, e.g., no feedback is providedregarding the start of such a measurement nor of any failure of such ameasurement. In one such example, the device may vibrate or emit anaudible signal, e.g., a chime or beep, indicating that a heart ratemeasurement has been obtained in response to a user gesture.

In some embodiments, the BMD is implemented as a non-wristband form,such as a fob, pendant, beltclip, clothclip, etc. Such implementationsallow user to discreetly measure heart rate, such measurement beingunnoticeable by other people when measurement is taken. Theimplementations also afford ease of measurement, so the user does notneed to run with arms crossed in front to take measurement off awristband. For example, if the user is feeling stressed during a jobinterview, they may wish to obtain a measurement of their heart rateduring the interview. If they have a biometric monitoring device thatmay be carried in their pocket, they may reach into the pocket and touchthe activator of the heart rate sensor; when the heart rate sensor hasobtained a valid heart rate measurement, the biometric monitoring devicemay gently vibrate to alert the user that the measurement has beenobtained—such feedback is likely not evident to the interviewer, sothere is little risk to the user that their preoccupation with theirheart rate may negatively impact the interview. The non-wrist-band typeof BMDs with single-gesture and discreet-feedback heart rate measurementfeatures are suitable for measuring heart rate without interfering withcurrent activity. For example, a user can hold the BMD in their handwhile exercising and then take a quick heart rate measurement on demandwithout unduly interfering with the exercise activity (as compared witha wrist-mounted BMD that may require multiple body parts to contact it,or as compared with a BMD that requires that the user navigate throughmenus, interact with multiple points on the BMD in order to obtain ameasurement (such as an EKG-based device), or utilize multiple bodyparts in interacting with the BMD).

In some embodiments, the BMD is implemented in a wristband form orcoupled to a wrist band. Such implementation can may have the heart ratesensor on a skin-facing side (e.g., the protrusion of 614 in FIG. 6), anexternal side facing away from the skin when worn on the wrist (e.g. thebutton or touch surface of 604 in FIG. 6 or 404 in FIG. 4), or both. Inan implementation that has the heart rate sensor on the skin facingside, the heart rate sensor can be activated by a specific motionpattern detected by a motion sensor. The defined motion can beimplemented as different patterns, such as twisting the wrist wearingthe device, shaking the device, moving the device in a “figure 8”pattern or bring the device to a watch-viewing position. Uponactivation, the heart rate collects PPG data from the wrist of the user.In some embodiments, the skin-facing heart rate sensor such as that in614 may be triggered by an activator receiving a signal indicating asingle touch of a button or surface 604 facing away from the wrist skin.

In some embodiments, such as in device 400, a wrist band type BMD has asurface area 410 facing away from the wrist when worn. In someembodiments, a heart rate sensor surface area and an activator surfacearea are near each other or overlap, and both are located in the surfacearea 400. In such embodiments, a single gesture such as a touch of thesurface area 410 provides an activation signal that causes the heartrate sensor to collect heart rate related signal from the same body partthat has provided the activation signal.

In some embodiments, the biometric monitoring device includes a heartrate sensor and an altimeter. The device may also include an activatorof the heart rate sensor, a heart rate sensor surface area through whichthe heart rate sensor can collect heart rate data from a user, at leastone processor, and a memory. The heart rate sensor, the altimeter, theactivator, the at least one processor, and the memory may becommunicatively connected. The device may be configured to startcollecting heart rate data through the heart rate sensor surface area inresponse to the activator receiving an activation signal caused by asingle user-gesture. In some embodiments, the device is configured toobtain altitude data from the altimeter. In some embodiments, thealtitude data comprises atmosphere pressure data or environmentalpressure data, or relative changes therein. In some embodiments, thedevice uses the altitude data to calculate flights of stairs climbed.

In some embodiments, the biometric monitoring device includes a GPS. Insome embodiments, the biometric monitoring device includes a proximitysensor. In some embodiments, the biometric monitoring device includes aheart rate sensor and an electromyography sensor. The device may causethe heart rate sensor to start collecting heart rate data through theheart rate sensor surface area in response to the electromyographysensor receiving an activation signal caused by a single user-gesture.In some such embodiments, the single user-gesture is provided byclenching the hand wearing the apparatus.

In some embodiments, the biometric monitoring device includes one ormore biometric sensors comprising an optical heart rate sensor, anactivator of the heart rate sensor, a heart rate sensor surface areathrough which the heart rate sensor can collect heart rate data from auser, a feedback mechanism, at least one processor, and a memory. Theheart rate sensor, the activator, the feedback mechanism, the at leastone processor, and the memory are communicatively connected. The memorystores computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least oneprocessor to cause the heart rate sensor to start collecting heart ratedata through the heart rate sensor surface area in response to theactivator receiving an activation signal caused by a singleuser-gesture, and provide user feedback, through the feedback mechanism,with reference to the collected heart rate data without requiringfurther user-gesture in addition to the single user-gesture. In someembodiments, the biometric monitoring device does not have local memory.Instead, it uses a remote memory to store operation instructions.

In some embodiments, the single user-gesture consists of a user movingor interacting with the apparatus in a defined motion pattern. Theactivator comprises at least one sensor selected from the groupconsisting of: single-axis or multi-axis gyroscopes, and single-axis ormulti-axis accelerometers. The device causes the heart rate sensor tostart collecting heart rate data in response to a detection of thedefined motion pattern using data obtained by the activator. In someembodiments, moving or interacting with the apparatus in a definedmotion pattern is selected from one or more of the following: twistingthe wrist wearing the apparatus, shaking the apparatus, bringing a wristwearing the device from a resting position to a watch viewing position,moving the apparatus in a “figure 8” motion, and any combinationsthereof.

In some embodiments, a user interface is communicatively connected toother components of the biometric monitoring device. In someembodiments, the user interface is included in the device itself. Inother embodiments, the user interface is included in a linkedsmartphone, tablet, or computer. In some embodiments, the user interfacecomprises one or more of the following: a heart rate sensor surfacearea, an activator surface area, a touch screen, a display, an LED, abutton, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a finger print reader, avibration motor, a proximity sensor, and a speaker.

In some embodiments, the heart rate sensor only collects data when thesingle user-gesture is occurring and from a body part of the user usedto provide the single user-gesture. In some embodiments, the heart ratesensor automatically stops collecting heart rate data after a predefinedtime period and remains in a state that does not collect heart rate datauntil a new user-gesture with the activator. In some embodiments, theapparatus is configured to automatically authenticate the user based onthe collected heart rate data. For example, with

In some embodiments, the device include a heart rate sensor surface areaand an activator surface area that are arranged on a substantially flatplane, thereby allowing a single body part of a user to simultaneouslyinteract with the activator and the heart rate sensor. In someembodiments, the heart rate sensor surface area and the activatorsurface area form one continuous surface area.

In some embodiments, the apparatus includes an optical heart rate sensorfor the visible light spectrum. In some embodiments, the apparatusincludes an optical heart rate sensor for infrared light. In someembodiments, the apparatus includes one or more of the following: GPS,proximity sensor, gyroscope, magnetometer, accelerometer, ambient lightsensor, touch screen, temperature sensor, galvanic skin response sensor,fingerprint reader, electromyography sensor, altimeter, pressuretransducer, and force transducer, audio sensor, bioelectrical impedancesensor, blood pressure sensor, moisture sensor, and blood glucosesensor.

Biometric Sensors

In some embodiments, the biometric monitoring device includes a heartrate sensor that detects electrical signal generated by heart movement(e.g. electrode sensor) or an optical signal resulting from blood flow(e.g., photoplethysmography sensor or pulse oximetry sensor). Inaddition to heart rate data, the biometric monitoring devices discussedherein may collect one or more types of physiological and/orenvironmental data from sensors embedded within the biometric monitoringdevices, e.g., one or more sensors selected from the group includingaccelerometers, gyroscopes, altimeters, etc., and/or external devices,e.g., an external blood pressure monitor, and may communicate or relaysuch information to other devices, including devices capable of servingas an Internet-accessible data sources, thus permitting the collecteddata to be viewed, for example, using a web browser or network-basedapplication. For example, while the user is wearing a biometricmonitoring device, the device may calculate and store the user's stepcount using one or more sensors. The device may then transmit the datarepresentative of the user's step count to an account on a web service,e.g., fitbit dot com, a computer, a mobile phone, or a health stationwhere the data may be stored, processed, and visualized by the user.Indeed, the device may measure or calculate a plurality of otherphysiological metrics in addition to, or in place of, the user's heartrate.

The measured physiological metrics may include, but are not limited to,energy expenditure, e.g., calorie burn, floors climbed and/or descended,heart rate, heart rate variability, heart rate recovery, location and/orheading, e.g., via GPS, elevation, ambulatory speed and/or distancetraveled, swimming lap count, bicycle distance and/or speed, bloodpressure, blood glucose, skin conduction, skin and/or body temperature,electromyography data, electroencephalography data, weight, body fat,caloric intake, nutritional intake from food, medication intake, sleepperiods, sleep phases, sleep quality and/or duration, pH levels,hydration levels, and respiration rate. The device may also measure orcalculate metrics related to the environment around the user such asbarometric pressure, weather conditions, e.g., temperature, humidity,pollen count, air quality, rain/snow conditions, wind speed, lightexposure, e.g., ambient light, UV light exposure, time and/or durationspent in darkness, noise exposure, radiation exposure, and magneticfield. Furthermore, the biometric monitoring device, or an externalsystem receiving data from the biometric monitoring device, maycalculate metrics derived from the data collected by the biometricmonitoring device. For instance, the device may derive one or more ofthe following from heart rate data: average heart rate, minimum heartrate, maximum heart rate, heart rate variability, heart rate relative totarget heart rate zone, heart rate relative to resting heart rate,change in heart rate, decrease in heart rate, increase in heart rate,training advice with reference to heart rate, and a medical conditionwith reference to heart rate. Some of the derived information is basedon both the heart rate information and other information provided by theuser (e.g., age and gender) or by other sensors (elevation and skinconductance).

The biometric sensors may include one or more sensors that evaluate aphysiological aspect of a wearer of the device, e.g., heart ratesensors, galvanized skin response sensors, skin temperature sensors,electromyography sensors, etc. The biometric sensors may also oralternatively include sensors that measure physical environmentalcharacteristics that reflect how the wearer of the device is interactingwith the surrounding environment, e.g., accelerometers, altimeters, GPSdevices, gyroscopes, etc. All of these are biometric sensors that mayall be used to gain insight into the activities of the wearer, e.g., bytracking movement, acceleration, rotations, orientation, altitude, etc.

A list of potential biometric sensor types and/or biometric data typesis shown below in Table 1, including heart rate sensors. This listing isnot exclusive, and other types of biometric sensors other than thoselisted may be used. Moreover, the data that is potentially derivablefrom the listed biometric sensors may also be derived, either in wholeor in part, from other biometric sensors. For example, an evaluation ofstairs climbed may involve evaluating altimeter data to determinealtitude change, clock data to determine how quickly the altitudechanged, and accelerometer data to determine whether biometricmonitoring device is being worn by a person who is walking (as opposedto standing still).

TABLE 1 Biometric Sensors and Data (physiological and/or environmental)Biometric Sensor Biometric data potentially Type measured Potentiallyderivable biometric data Accelerometers Accelerations experienced atRotation, translation, velocity/speed, location worn distance traveled,steps taken, elevation gained, fall indications, calories burned (incombination with data such as user weight, stride, etc.) GyroscopesAngular orientation, angular Rotation, orientation velocity, angularacceleration and/or rotation Altimeters Barometric pressure, temperatureAltitude change, flights of stairs (to calculate a more accurateclimbed, local pressure changes, altitude) submersion in liquid PulseOximeters Blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), Heart rate variability, stresslevels, heart rate, blood volume active heart rate, resting heart rate,sleeping heart rate, sedentary heart rate, cardiac arrhythmia, cardiacarrest, pulse transit time, heart rate recovery time, blood volumeGalvanic Skin Electrical conductance of skin Perspiration, stresslevels, Response Sensors exertion/arousal levels Global PositioningLocation, elevation, speed, Distance traveled, velocity/speed System(GPS)* heading Electromyographic Electrical pulses Muscletension/extension Sensors Audio Sensors Local environmental sound levelsLaugh detection, breathing detection, snoring detection, respirationtype (snoring, breathing, labored breathing, gasping), voice detection,typing detection Photo/Light Ambient light intensity, ambient Day/night,sleep, UV exposure, TV Sensors light wavelength watching, indoor v.outdoor environment Temperature Temperature Body temperature, ambientSensors environment temperature Strain Gauge Weight (the strain gaugesmay be Body Mass Index (BMI) (in Sensors located in a device remote fromconjunction with user-supplied the biometric monitoring device, heightand gender information, for e.g., a Fitbit ARIA ™ scale, and example)communicate weight-related data to the biometric monitoring device,either directly or via a shared account over the Internet) BioelectricalBody fat percentage (may be Impedance included in remote device, such asSensors ARIA ™ scale) Respiration Rate Respiration rate Sleep apneadetection Sensors Blood Pressure Systolic blood pressure, diastolicSensors blood pressure Heart Rate Sensors Heart rate Blood Glucose Bloodglucose levels Sensors Moisture Sensors Moisture levels Whether user isswimming, showering, bathing, etc.

In addition to the above, some biometric data may be calculated by thebiometric monitoring device without direct reference data obtained fromthe biometric sensors. For example, a person's basal metabolic rate,which is a measure of the “default” caloric expenditure that a personexperiences throughout the day while at rest (in other words, simply toprovide energy for basic bodily functions such as breathing, circulatingblood, etc.), may be calculated based on data entered by the user andthen used, in conjunction with data from an internal clock indicatingthe time of day, to determine how many calories have been expended by aperson thus far in the day just to provide energy for basic bodilyfunctions.

Physiological Sensors

As mentioned above, some biometric sensors can collect physiologicaldata, others can collect environmental data, and some may collect bothtypes of data. An optical sensor is an example of a sensor that maycollect both types of data. Many of the following sensors and dataoverlap with the biometric sensors and data presented above. They areorganized and presented below to indicate the physiological andenvironmental sources of information.

The biometric monitoring device of the present disclosure including aheart rate sensor may use one, some or all of the following sensors toacquire physiological data, including the physiological data outlined inTable 2 below. All combinations and permutations of physiologicalsensors and/or physiological data are intended to fall within the scopeof the present inventions. The biometric monitoring device of thepresent inventions may include but is not limited to one, some or all ofsensors specified below to acquire the corresponding physiological data;indeed, other type(s) of sensors may be employed to acquire thecorresponding physiological data, which are intended to fall within thescope of the present inventions. Additionally, the device may derive thephysiological data from the corresponding sensor output data, but is notlimited to the number or types of physiological data that it couldderive from said sensor.

TABLE 2 Physiological Sensors and Data Physiological SensorsPhysiological data acquired Optical Reflectometer Heart Rate, Heart RateVariability Potential embodiments: SpO2 (Saturation of PeripheralOxygen) Light emitter and receiver Respiration Multi or single LED andphoto diode Stress arrangement Blood pressure Wavelength tuned forspecific physiological Arterial Stiffness signals Blood glucose levelsSynchronous detection/amplitude Blood volume modulation Heart raterecovery Cardiac health Motion Detector Activity level detectionPotential embodiments: Sitting/standing detection Inertial, Gyro orAccelerometer Fall detection GPS Skin Temp Stress EMG Muscle tension EKGHeart Rate, Heart Rate Variability, Heart Rate Potential Embodiments:Recovery 1 lead Stress 2 lead Cardiac health Magnetometer Activity levelbased on rotation Laser Doppler Blood flow Power Meter Ultra Sound Bloodflow Audio Heart Rate, Heart Rate Variability, Heart Rate Recovery Laughdetection Respiration Respiration type - snoring, breathing, breathingproblems User's voice Strain gauge Heart Rate, Heart Rate VariabilityPotential embodiment: Stress In a wrist band Wet or Humidity sensorStress Potential embodiment: Swimming detection galvanic skin responseShower detection

In one exemplary embodiment, the biometric monitoring device includes anoptical sensor to detect, sense, sample, and/or generate data that maybe used to determine information representative of heart rate. Inaddition, the optical sensor may optionally provide data for determiningstress (or level thereof) and/or blood pressure of a user. In oneembodiment, the biometric monitoring device includes an optical sensorhaving one or more light sources (LED, laser, etc.) to emit or outputlight into the user's body and/or light detectors (photodiodes,phototransistors, etc.) to sample, measure and/or detect a response orreflection and provide data used to determine data which isrepresentative of heart rate (e.g., using photoplethysmography (PPG)),stress (or level thereof), and/or blood pressure of a user.

In one exemplary embodiment, a user's heart rate measurement may betriggered by activation criteria determined by one or more sensors (orprocessing circuitry connected to them). In this embodiment, the one ormore sensors function as an activator for the heart rate sensor (i.e.,the optical sensor). The criteria are based on information collected bythe activator. In some embodiments in which the heart rate sensorgathers on-demand and momentary heart rate data, the activation criteriareflect a single defined user-gesture, such as moving the device in adefined motion trajectory or touching an activator surface area. Incontrast, in some embodiments in which the heart rate sensorautomatically gathers heart rate data without requiring a defined usergesture, when data from the motion sensor(s) indicates a period ofstillness or little motion, the biometric monitoring device may trigger,acquire and/or obtain a heart rate measurement or data. In oneembodiment, when the motion sensor(s) indicate user activity or motion(for example, motion that is not suitable or optimum to trigger, acquireand/or obtain desired heart rate measurement or data (for example, dataused to determine a user's resting heart rate)), the biometricmonitoring device and/or the sensor(s) employed to acquire and/or obtaindesired heart rate measurement or data may be placed or remain in a lowpower state. (Note that measurements taken during motion may be lessreliable and may be corrupted by motion artifacts.)

Environmental Sensors

The biometric monitoring device of the present inventions may use one,some or all of the following environmental sensors to, for example,acquire the environmental data, including environmental data outlined inTable 3 below. The biometric monitoring device is not limited to thenumber or types of sensors specified below but may employ other sensorsthat acquire environmental data outlined in the table below. Allcombinations and permutations of environmental sensors and/orenvironmental data are intended to fall within the scope of the presentinventions. Additionally, the device may derive environmental data fromthe corresponding sensor output data, but is not limited to the types ofenvironmental data that it could derive from said sensor.

The biometric monitoring device of the present inventions may use one ormore, or all of the environmental sensors described herein and one ormore, or all of the physiological sensors described herein. Indeed,biometric monitoring device of the present inventions may acquire any orall of the environmental data and physiological data described hereinusing any sensor now known or later developed—all of which are intendedto fall within the scope of the present inventions.

TABLE 3 Environmental Sensors and Data Environmental SensorsEnvironmental data acquired Motion Detector Location PotentialEmbodiments: Course Inertial, Gyro or Accelerometer Heading GPSPressure/Altimeter sensor Elevation, elevation Ambient Temp TemperatureLight Sensor Indoor vs outdoor Watching TV (spectrum/flicker ratedetection) Optical data transfer- initiation, QR codes, etc. ultravioletlight exposure Audio Indoor vs. Outdoor Compass Heading PotentialEmbodiments: 3 Axis Compass

In one embodiment, the biometric monitoring device may include analtimeter sensor, for example, disposed or located in the interior ofthe device housing. In such a case, the device housing may have a ventthat allows the interior of the device to measure, detect, sample and/orexperience any changes in exterior pressure. In one embodiment, the ventprevents water from entering the device while facilitating measuring,detecting and/or sampling changes in pressure via the altimeter sensor.For example, an exterior surface of the biometric monitoring device mayinclude a vent type configuration or architecture (for example, a GORE™vent) which allows ambient air to move in and out of the housing of thedevice (which allows the altimeter sensor to measure, detect and/orsample changes in pressure), but reduces, prevents and/or minimizeswater and other liquids flow into the housing of the device.

The altimeter sensor, in one embodiment, may be filled with gel thatallows the sensor to experience pressure changes outside of the gel. Theuse of a gel filled altimeter may give the device a higher level ofenvironmental protection with or without the use of an environmentallysealed vent. The device may have a higher survivability rate with a gelfilled altimeter in locations including but not limited to those thathave high humidity, a clothes washer, a dish washer, a clothes dryer, asteam room, the shower, a pool, and any location where the device may beexposed to moisture, exposed to liquid or submerged in liquid.

Optical Sensors

As mentioned above, optical sensors may be used to collect bothphysiological (e.g., heart rate) and environmental (e.g., ambient light)data. This subsection discloses details of various embodiments ofbiometric monitoring devices having one or more optical sensors. In oneembodiment, the optical sensors (sources and/or detectors) may bedisposed on an interior or skin side of the biometric monitoring device(i.e., a side whereby the surface of the device contacts, touches and/orfaces the skin of the user (hereinafter “skin side”). (See, for example,FIGS. 6-8). In another embodiment, the optical sensors may be disposedon one or more sides of the device, including the skin side and one ormore sides of the device that face or are exposed to the ambientenvironment (environmental side). (See, for example, FIGS. 3, 4, and 6).Notably, the data from such optical sensors may be representative ofphysiological data and/or environmental data. Indeed, in one embodiment,the optical sensors provide, acquire and/or detect information frommultiple sides of the biometric monitoring device whether or not thesensors are disposed on one or more of the multiple sides. For example,the optical sensors may obtain data related to the ambient lightconditions of the environment.

Where optical sensors are disposed or arranged on the skin side of thebiometric monitoring device, in operation, a light source emits lightupon the skin of the user and, in response, a light detector samples,acquires and/or detects a response or reflected light from the skin (andfrom inside the body). The one or more sources and detectors may bearranged in an array or pattern that enhances or optimizes the SNRand/or reduces or minimizes power consumption by light sources anddetectors. These optical detectors sample, acquire and/or detectphysiological data which may then be processed or analyzed (for example,by resident processing circuitry) to obtain data which is representativeof, for example, a user's heart rate, respiration, heart ratevariability, oxygen saturation (SpO2), blood volume, blood glucose, skinmoisture and skin pigmentation level.

The source(s) may emit light having one or more wavelengths which arespecific or directed to a type of physiological data to be collected.The optical detectors may sample, measure and/or detect one or morewavelengths that are also specific or directed to a type ofphysiological data to be collected and physiological parameter (of theuser) to be assessed or determined. For instance, in one embodiment, alight source emitting light having a wavelength in the green spectrum(for example, an LED that emits light having wavelengths correspondingto the green spectrum) and photodiode positioned to sample, measureand/or detect a response or reflection may provide data used todetermine or detect heart rate. In contrast, a light source emittinglight having a wavelength in the red spectrum (for example, an LED thatemits light having wavelengths corresponding to the red spectrum) and alight source emitting light having a wavelength in the infrared spectrum(for example, an LED that emits light having wavelengths correspondingto the IR spectrum) and photodiode positioned to sample, measure and/ordetect a response or reflection may provide data used to determine ordetect SpO2.

Indeed, in one embodiment, the color or wavelength of the light emittedby the LED (or set of LEDs) may be modified, adjusted and/or controlledin accordance with a predetermined type of physiological data beingacquired or conditions of operation. Here, the wavelength of the lightemitted by the LED is adjusted and/or controlled to optimize and/orenhance the “quality” of the physiological data obtained and/or sampledby the detector. For example, the color of the light emitted by the LEDmay be switched from infrared to green when the user's skin temperatureor the ambient temperature is cool in order to enhance the signalcorresponding to cardiac activity.

The biometric monitoring device, in one embodiment, may include a window(for example, a visually opaque window) in the housing to facilitateoptical transmission between the optical sensors and the user. Here, thewindow may permit light (for example, of a selected wavelength) to beemitted by, for example, one or more LEDs, onto the skin of the user anda response or reflection to pass into the housing to be sampled,measured and/or detected by, for example, one or more photodiodes. Inone embodiment, the circuitry related to emitting and receiving lightmay be disposed in the interior of the device housing and underneath aplastic or glass layer (for example, painted with infrared ink) or aninfrared lens which permits infrared light to pass but not light in thehuman visual spectrum. In this way, the light transmission is invisibleto the human eye.

The biometric monitoring device may employ light pipes or other lighttransmissive structures. See FIG. 12. FIG. 12 illustrates an optimizedPPG detector that has a protrusion with curved sides in a watch-likehousing 1208 so as not to discomfort the user wearing the device.Additionally, the surface of light pipes 1206 which permit thephotodetector 1204 and LEDs 1202 to receive light from or transmit lightto the user's skin are contoured to maximize light flux coupling betweenthe LED's and photodetectors to the light pipes. The ends of the lightpipes 1206 which face the user's skin are also contoured. This contourmay provide focusing or defocusing to optimize the PPG signal. Forexample, the contour may focus light to a certain depth and locationwhich coincides with an area where blood flow is likely to occur. Alsonote that the vertex of these foci overlap or are very close together sothat the photodetector receives the maximum possible amount of scatteredlight from the tissue and artery, which provides volumetric variationindicative of heart rate and other blood related information.

In one embodiment, light is directed from the light source to the skinof the user through light pipes or other light-transmissive structures.Scattered light from the user's body may be directed back to the opticalcircuitry through the same or similar structures. Indeed, thetransmissive structures may employ a material and/or optical design tofacilitate low light loss (for example, a lens and or the use ofreflective materials) thereby improving SNR of the photo detector and/orreduce power consumption of the light source(s) (light emitters and/orlight detectors). In one embodiment, the light pipes or other lighttransmissive structures may include a material that selectivelytransmits light having one or more specific or predetermined wavelengthswith higher efficiency than others, thereby acting as a bandpass filter.This bandpass filter may be tuned to improve the signal of a specificphysiological data type. For example, in one embodiment, anIn-Mold-Labeling or “IML” light transmissive structure may beimplemented wherein the structure uses a material with predetermined ordesired optical characteristics to create a specific bandpasscharacteristic, for example, to pass infrared light with greaterefficiency than light of other wavelengths (for example, light having awavelength in human visible spectrum). In another embodiment, abiometric monitoring device may employ light transmissive structurehaving an optically opaque portion (including certain opticalproperties) and an optically transparent portion (including opticalproperties different from the optically opaque portion). Such astructure may be provided via a double-shot or two step molding processwherein optically opaque material is injected and optically transparentmaterial is injected. A biometric monitoring device implementing such alight transmissive structure may include different transmissive propertyfor different wavelengths depending on the direction of light travelthrough the structure. For example, in one embodiment, the opticallyopaque material may include a property of being reflective to a specificwavelength range so as to more efficiently transport light from thelight emitter(s) and from the user's body back to the skin detector(which may be of a different wavelength(s) relative to the wavelength(s)of the emitted light).

In another embodiment, reflective structures may be placed in the fieldof view of the light emitter(s) and/or light detector(s). For example,the sides of a hole which connects a light emitter(s) and/or lightdetector(s) may be covered in a reflective material (e.g. chromed). Thereflective material may increase the efficiency with which the light istransported to the skin and back into the detector(s). The reflectivelycoasted hole may be filled in with an optical epoxy or other transparentmaterial to prevent liquid from entering the device body.

In another embodiment which implements light transmissive structures(for example, structures created or formed through IML), such structuresmay include a mask consisting of an opaque material which limits theaperture of one, some or all of the light source(s) and/or detector(s).In this way, the light transmissive structures selectively “define” apreferential volume of the body that light is emitted into and/ordetected from. Notably, other mask configurations may be employed orimplemented in connection with the inventions described and/orillustrated herein; all such mask configurations to, for example,improve the photoplethysmography signal, and which are implemented inconnection with the inventions described and/or illustrated herein, areintended to fall within the scope of the present inventions.

In another embodiment, the light emitter(s) and detector(s) may be ableto transmit light through a hole or series of holes in the deviceexterior. This hole or series of holes may be filled in with lighttransmissive epoxy (e.g. optical epoxy). The epoxy would therefore forma light pipe which allows light to be transmitted from the lightemitter(s) to the skin and from the skin into the light detector(s).This technique would also have the advantage that the epoxy would form awatertight seal, preventing water, sweat or other liquid from enteringthe device body though the hole(s) on the device exterior which allowthe light emitter(s) and detector(s) to transmit and receive light fromthe device body exterior. An epoxy with a high thermal conductivity maybe used to prevent light emitters (e.g. LED's) from overheating.

In any of the light transmissive structures described herein, thesurface of the optics or device body may include a hard coat paint, hardcoat dip, or optical coatings (such as anti-reflection), scratchresistance, anti-fog, and/or wavelength band block (such as ultravioletlight blocking). Such characteristics or materials may improve theoperation, accuracy and/or longevity of the biometric monitoring device.

In one embodiment, the biometric monitoring device includes a concave orconvex shape, on the skin side of the device, to focus light towards aspecific volume at a specific depth in the skin and increase theefficiency of light collected from that point into the photodetector.(See, for example, FIG. 12). Where such a biometric monitoring devicealso employs light pipes to selectively and controllably route light, itmay be advantageous to shape the end of the light pipe with a degree ofcylindricity (for example, rather than radially symmetric). Such aconfiguration may improve the SNR by increasing the efficiency of lighttransferred from the emitter onto or into the skin of the user whiledecreasing “stray” light from being detected or collected by thephotodetector. In this way, the signal sampled, measured and/or detectedby the photodetector consists less of stray light and more of the user'sresponse to such emitted light (signal or data that is representative ofthe response to the emitted light).

In another embodiment, light transmissive epoxy may be molded into aconcave or convex shape so as to provide beneficial optical propertiesto sensors as well. For example, during the application of lighttransmissive epoxy, the top of the photodetector may be shaped into aconcave so light passed the optical structure would be more intense.

In addition thereto, or in lieu thereof, a portion of the skin side ofthe biometric monitoring device may include a friction enhancingmechanism or material. For example, the skin side of the biometricmonitoring device may include a plurality of raised or depressed regionsportions (for example, small bumps, ridges, grooves, and/or divots).Moreover, a friction enhancing material (for example, a gel-likematerial such as silicone) may be disposed on the skin side. Indeed, adevice back made out of gel may also provide friction while alsoimproving user comfort and preventing stray light from entering. Asnoted above, a friction enhancing mechanism or material may be usedalone or in conjunction with the biometric monitoring device having aprotrusion as described herein. In this regard, the biometric monitoringdevice may include a plurality of raised or depressed regions portions(for example, small bumps, ridges, grooves, and/or divots) in or on theprotrusion portion of the device. Indeed, such raised or depressedregions portions may be incorporated/embedded in or on a window portionof the protrusion. In addition thereto, or in lieu thereof, theprotrusion portion may consist of or be coated with a friction enhancingmaterial (for example, a gel-like material such as silicone). Notably,the use of a protrusion and/or friction may improve measurement accuracyof data acquisition corresponding to certain parameters (e.g., heartrate, heart rate variability, galvanic skin response, skin temperature,skin coloration, heat flux, blood pressure, blood glucose, etc.) byreducing motions of the sensor relative to the user's skin duringoperation, especially whilst the user is in motion.

FIG. 13 depicts an exemplary schematic block diagram of an opticalsensor where light is emitted from a light source toward the user's skinand the reflection is sensed by a light detector, which is subsequentlydigitized by an analog to digital converter (ADC). The digitized lightsensor signal is processed by a processor of the device. The intensityof the light source may be modified (e.g., through a light sourceintensity control module) to maintain a desirable reflected intensitysignal. For example, the light source intensity may be reduced to avoidsaturation of the output signal from the light detector. As anotherexample, the light source intensity may be increased to maintain theoutput signal from the light detector within a desired range of outputvalues. Notably, the active control of the system may be achievedthrough linear or nonlinear control methods such asproportional-integral-derivative (PID) control, fixed step control,predictive control, neural networks, hysteresis, and the like, and mayalso employ additional information derived from other sensors in thedevice such as motion, galvanic skin response, etc. The sensorinformation is first processed by the processor, and then may beprovided to a digital to analog converter (DAC) and/or general purposeinput/output circuits (GPIOs). The processed additional information mayaffect a Light Source Intensity control, and/or an on/off control of thelight source. FIG. 13 is provided for illustration and does not limitthe implementation of such a system to, for instance, an ADC integratedwithin a MCU (Microcontroller Unit), or the use of a MCU for thatmatter. Other possible implementations include the use of one or moreinternal or external ADCs, FPGAs, ASICs, etc.

In another embodiment, the system may incorporate the use of a sampleand hold circuit (or equivalent) to maintain the output of the lightdetector while the light source is turned off or attenuated to savepower. See, for example, FIG. 14. In embodiments of the presentdisclosure where relative changes in the light detector output are ofprimary importance (e.g., heart rate measurement), the sample and holdcircuit may not have to maintain an accurate copy of the output of thelight detector. In such cases, the sample and hold may be reduced to,for example, a diode (e.g., Schottky diode) and capacitor. The output ofthe sample and hold may be presented to an analog signal conditioningcircuit (e.g., a Sallen-Key bandpass filter, level shifter, and/or gaincircuit) to condition and amplify the signal within frequency bands ofinterest (e.g., 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz for cardiac or respiratory function)which is then digitized by the ADC. In another embodiment shown in FIG.15, the system includes two light sources and two light detectors, butdoes not include the sample and hold circuit. Similar embodiments can beimplemented for a system with two or more photo sensors.

The data from sensors, which may primarily be used to obtain biometricdata, may be stored in raw format by the biometric monitoring device ormay be pre-processed prior to storage by the biometric monitoringdevice. For example, the biometric monitoring device may store or bufferthe most recent 10 minutes of data in raw form but may then store datafrom prior to the ten-minute window as filtered data, e.g., with a lowersampling rate and/or with some form of numerical analysis, such as amoving average, performed, or as converted data, e.g., acceleration datamay be converted to “steps taken,” “stairs climbed,” and/or “distancetraveled.” Data from the biometric sensors, e.g., raw data orpost-processed data, may be further analyzed to determine if thebiometric data is indicative of a pre-defined biometric state orcondition that is associated with a user input. If such analysisindicates that such biometric data has been collected, the biometricmonitoring device may then treat such an event as equivalent to a userinput.

Other Components or Features

User Interface with the Device

The biometric monitoring device may include one or more mechanisms forinteracting with the device either locally or remotely. In oneembodiment, the biometric monitoring device may convey data visuallythrough a digital display. The physical embodiment of this display mayuse any one or a plurality of display technologies including, but notlimited to one or more of LED, LCD, AMOLED, E-Ink, Sharp displaytechnology, graphical display, and other display technologies such asTN, HTN, STN, FSTN, TFT, IPS, and OLET. This display could show dataacquired or stored locally on the device or could display data acquiredremotely from other devices or Internet services. The device may use asensor (for example, an Ambient Light Sensor, “ALS”) to control oradjust screen backlighting. For example, in dark lighting situations,the display may be dimmed to conserve battery life, whereas in brightlighting situations, the display may increase its brightness so that itis more easily read by the user.

In another embodiment, the device may use single or multicolor LEDs toindicate a state of the device. States that the device indicate mayinclude but are not limited to biometric states such as heart rate orapplication states such as an incoming message, a goal has been reached.These states may be indicated through the LED's color, being on, off, anintermediate intensity, pulsing (and/or rate thereof), and/or a patternof light intensities from completely off to highest brightness. In oneembodiment, an LED may modulate its intensity and/or color with thephase and frequency of the user's heart rate.

In one embodiment, the use of an E-Ink display would allow the displayto remain on without the battery drain of a non-reflective display. This“always-on” functionality may provide a pleasant user experience in thecase of, for example, a watch application where the user may simplyglance at the device to see the time. The E-Ink display always displayscontent without comprising the battery life of the device, allowing theuser to see the time as they would on a traditional watch.

The device may use a light such as an LED to display the heart rate ofthe user by modulating the amplitude of the light emitted at thefrequency of the user's heart rate. The device may depict heart ratezones (e.g., aerobic, anaerobic) through the color of an LED (e.g.,green, red) or a sequence of LEDs that light up in accordance withchanges in heart rate (e.g., a progress bar). The device may beintegrated or incorporated into another device or structure, forexample, glasses or goggles, or communicate with glasses or goggles todisplay this information to the user.

The biometric monitoring device may also convey information to a userthrough the physical motion of the device. One such embodiment of amethod to physically move the device is the use of a vibration inducingmotor. The device may use this method alone, or in combination with aplurality of motion inducing technologies.

The device may convey information to a user through audio. A speakercould convey information through the use of audio tones, voice, songs,or other sounds.

These three information communication methods—visual, motion, andauditory—may be used alone or in any combination with each other oranother method of communication to communicate any one or plurality ofthe following information:

-   -   The device has started, ended, or failed a measurement of heart        rate    -   The user's heart rate has reached a certain level    -   The user has a normal, active, or resting heart rate of a        specific value or in a specific range    -   The user's heart rate has enter or exited a certain goal range        or training zone    -   The user has a new heart rate “zone” goal to reach, as in the        case of heart rate zone training for running, bicycling,        swimming, etc. activities

User Interface with a Secondary Device

In another embodiment the biometric monitoring device may transmit andreceive data and/or commands to and/or from a secondary electronicdevice. The secondary electronic device may be in direct or indirectcommunication with the biometric monitoring device. Direct communicationrefers herein to the transmission of data between a first device and asecondary device without any intermediary devices. For example, twodevices may communicate to one another over a wireless connection (e.g.Bluetooth) or a wired connection (e.g. USB). Indirect communicationrefers to the transmission of data between a first device and asecondary device with the aid of one or multiple intermediary thirddevices which relay the data. Third devices may include but are notlimited to a wireless repeater (e.g. WiFi repeater), a computing devicesuch as a smartphone, laptop, desktop or tablet computer, a cell phonetower, a computer server, and other networking electronics. For example,a biometric device may send data to a smartphone which forwards the datathrough a cellular network data connection to a server which isconnected through the internet to the cellular network.

In one embodiment, the secondary device which acts as a user interfaceto the biometric monitoring device may consist of a smartphone. An appon the smart phone may facilitate and/or enable the smartphone to act asa user interface to the biometric monitoring device. The biometricmonitoring device may send biometric and other data to the smartphone inreal-time or with some delay. The smart phone may send a command orcommands to the biometric device for example to instruct it to sendbiometric and other data in real-time or with some delay.

The smartphone may have one or multiple apps to enable the user to viewdata from their biometric device or devices. The app may by default opento a “dashboard” page when the user launches or opens the app. On thispage, summaries of data totals such as heart rate, the total number ofsteps, floors climbed miles traveled, calories burned, calories consumedand water consumed may be shown. Other pertinent information such aswhen the last time the app received data from the biometric monitoringdevice, metrics regarding the previous night's sleep (e.g. when the userwent to sleep, woke up, and how long they slept for), and how manycalories the user can eat in the day to maintain their caloric goals(e.g. a calorie deficit goal to enable weight loss) may also be shown.The user may be able to choose which of these and other metrics areshown on the dashboard screen. The user may be able to see these andother metrics on the dashboard for previous days. They may be able toaccess previous days by pressing a button or icon on a touchscreen.Alternatively, gestures such as swiping to the left or right may enablethe user to navigate through current and previous metrics.

User Gesture and Interaction

As discussed above, one or more of the biometric sensors discussedherein may be used to detect a physical gesture corresponding to a userinput. This allows a user to interact with the device using physicalgestures. For example, a wrist-based portable biometric device maycontain an accelerometer, magnetometer (which may be used to detect thebiometric monitoring device's orientation with respect to the Earth'smagnetic field), and/or a gyroscope. One or more of these sensors may beused to determine when the user moves their wrist in a manner that issimilar to that performed when viewing a watch. The portable biometricdevice may interpret this gesture as a user input or interaction. Thebiometric monitoring device may be configured to display the time on adisplay of the biometric monitoring device in response to the detectionof such a gesture. Other gestures that may be used to cause the portablebiometric monitoring device to display a specific data display page suchas heart rate, but are not limited to, shaking the device, moving thedevice in a defined trajectory (e.g., a “figure 8” trajectory), multipletaps, or a specific pattern of taps. For example, a user may tapanywhere on the exterior of the portable biometric monitoring device twotimes within a specific time period, e.g., one second, to cause thedisplay to show a data display page showing heart rate information.

In another embodiment, a wrist-based portable biometric device may haveone or more electromyographic (EMG) sensors in device. These EMG sensorsmay detect when the user flexes the muscles in their forearm/wrist byforming a fist, for example. This gesture may be interpreted by theportable biometric device as a user input that causes the display toshow heart rate or that triggers heart rate detection (the EMG may actas an activator for triggering heart rate detection), for example. Whilesome physical gestures are provided here to illustrate gesture basedinteractions, these examples should not be considered exhaustive.

In some implementations, the portable biometric monitoring device mayinclude mechanisms or capabilities for responding to more than one typeof user interaction. User interactions may include, but are not limitedto, those already disclosed herein, e.g., pressing a button, performinga gesture such as moving your hand in a manner similar to viewing awatch, tapping one or multiple times in a specific pattern, andperforming a specific gesture on a touchscreen. Different kinds of userinteractions may correspond to different functions. For example, abutton press user interaction may cause a data display page showing afirst metric related to an activity or physiological signal, e.g.,ambulatory motion or cardiac signal may have the metrics step counts andheart rate respectively). An additional user input of a different inputmethod (e.g. by tapping the device one or more times) may triggerdisplay of a second metric related to the same activity or physiologicalsignal. In another implementation, additional user input of a differentinput method may trigger presentation of a submenu or informationunrelated to the previous screen shown.

A user may interact with a biometric monitoring device in one or moreways. A typical user input, for example, may include pressing a button.However, as discussed earlier in this disclosure, a user may provideinput to biometric monitoring devices through other means. For example,a user may touch a virtual button on a touch screen, touch a capacitivesensor, perform a gesture on a touch screen, or perform a physicalgesture, e.g., such as by moving their hand or arm in a specific way.Measurements from one or more sensors selected from the group including,but not limited to, accelerometers, galvanic skin response sensors,thermometers, pressure transducers, altimeters, gyroscopes,photoplethysmograph sensors, electromyographic (EMG) sensors, forcetransducers, strain gauges, and magnetometers may be used to detect userinput.

In some implementations, the portable biometric monitoring device mayinclude a motion sensor. The motion sensor may be configured to detectgestures that the user makes with the part of the body to which thebiometric monitoring device is coupled. For example, the biometricmonitoring device may be coupled to the user's wrist with a band. Toactivate the heart rate sensor, the user may twist her wrist or move herhand in a “figure 8” motion while wearing the biometric monitoringdevice. In another embodiment, a gesture may be performed on the devicewith a body part to which the device is not coupled. For example, theuser may tap an activator surface area or anywhere on the housing of abiometric monitoring device worn on their forearm with a finger of theopposite hand to activate the heart rate sensor and take a heart ratemeasurement on the finger performing the tapping.

FIG. 16 depicts a person's arm, forearm, and hand with a biometricmonitoring device worn on the forearm. In FIG. 16, a person's “arm” isshown. In everyday speech, the term “arm” is typically used to refer tothe entirety of the limb connected to a person's shoulder. However, asused herein, the term “arm” refers to the portion of that limb locatedbetween the shoulder joint and the elbow joint of that limb. The term“forearm” refers to the portion of that limb between the elbow joint andthe wrist joint. The forearm may encompass a portion of the limb thatmay often be called the “wrist,” e.g., the portion of the forearm onwhich a person may wear a watch or bracelet. This disclosure uses theconventions outlined in Joseph E. Muscolino's “Kinesiology: The SkeletalSystem and Muscle Function,” Second Edition (2011), when discussingvarious body parts or other kinesiological concepts.

Since a person's arm and forearm are organic structures withwidely-varying appearances from person to person, it may be useful toutilize a common reference framework when discussing such a limb or whendiscussing items that may be worn on such a limb. For example, despitethe wide variation in shape and size of forearms in the generalpopulation, every normal forearm will have a forearm axis 1557 that issubstantially aligned with the longest dimension of the forearm. Anotherway of thinking of the forearm axis 1557 is as the axis that passesthrough the nominal centers of rotation of the wrist joint and the elbowjoint. In addition to a forearm axis, it may be useful to refer to anelbow axis 1559 and a wrist axis 1553. The elbow axis 1559 may generallydefine the pivot axis of the forearm about the elbow joint duringflexion and extension of the forearm, and the wrist axis 1553 maygenerally define the pivot axis of the hand about the wrist joint duringflexion and extension of the hand (in reality, some of these joints arecapable of complex, multi-axial rotation—the pivot axis, as used herein,refers to the axis about which the greatest extent of rotational motionis possible for a joint). An arm axis 1561 may be generally aligned withthe long dimension of the arm and may pass through the center ofrotation of the elbow joint and the center of rotation of the shoulderjoint (not pictured). A hand axis 1555 may pass through the center ofthe wrist joint and generally in a direction aligned with the middlefinger of the hand when at full extension.

As can be seen, the biometric monitoring device 1550 may be located inor on a wristband that encircles the forearm near the wrist (althoughsome users may wear such bands at a loose enough setting that the bandmay slide over the wrist joint area itself; such bands are stillconsidered to be configured to be worn around the wearer's forearm,however). The wristband may generally define a wristband plane 1551 thatis substantially perpendicular to the forearm axis 1557.

FIG. 17 depicts a flow diagram for a technique that may be used to causea biometric monitoring device to activate the heart rate sensorresponsive to data received from biometric sensors indicating motion ofdefined patterns. Such motion patterns include, but not limited to,twisting the wrist wearing the device, shaking the hand wearing thedevice, bring a hand wearing the device from a resting position to awatch viewing position, etc. Other gestures may be used alternatively oras well.

The technique 1600 may begin in block 1602 with the receipt of data by aprocessor or processors of a biometric monitoring device from biometricsensors of the biometric monitoring device. Such data may be analyzed inblock 1604 to determine if the biometric data indicates that thebiometric monitoring device has rotated about at least one axis. Forexample, if the biometric data indicates that the biometric monitoringdevice has rotated about an axis such as the forearm axis 1557, such anindication may be interpreted as indicating that the wearer of thebiometric monitoring device has rotated their wrist (and thus caused theportion of the forearm adjacent to the wrist and on which the biometricmonitoring device is worn to experience similar rotation about theforearm axis). Such rotation may be detected using any of a variety ofdifferent techniques. If a gyroscope sensor is included in the biometricmonitoring device, the data from such a sensor may be used to determinerotational speed and orientation of the biometric monitoring device. Ifaccelerometers are included in the biometric monitoring device, theaccelerations measured by the accelerometers may be used to calculaterotational speed and rotational orientation. For example, the Earth'sgravitational field may provide a reference frame for the accelerationdata that allows rotational orientation or speed based on tri-axialacceleration measurements to be calculated. Similarly, if a magnetometeris included in the biometric monitoring device, the Earth's magneticfield may be used as a reference frame to determine the absoluteorientation of the biometric monitoring device relative to the Earth'ssurface.

In some implementations, the processor or processors of the biometricmonitoring device may be configured to identify rotational movementsthat are more complex than simple rotation about the forearm axis. Forexample, when a person moves their forearm from a relaxed position,e.g., the anatomic position, to a position with the forearm generallyaligned with the transverse plane and the frontal plane, such motion mayinvolve compound rotation about an axis parallel to the elbow axis 1559and about an axis parallel to the forearm axis 1557. In terms of anabsolute coordinate system, this may translate to triaxial rotations.

In block 1606, the processor or processors of the biometric monitoringdevice may evaluate the biometric data to determine if the biometricmonitoring device has received biometric data indicating that thebiometric monitoring device has experienced rotation about at least oneaxis.

In some implementations, the biometric data may be further evaluated todetermine if the rotational movement or orientation, if such isdetected, meets certain minimum requirements. For example, the processoror processors may be further configured to determine if detectedrotational movement is at least at a rate of 90°/sec and through asubstantially continuous rotation of at least 45° about the forearmaxis. In other implementations, the processor or processors may befurther configured to determine if the detected rotational movement isat least one of the rotational rates in the group including at least 90°per second, at least 60° per second, at least 45° per second, and atleast 30° per second. In such implementations, the processor orprocessors may also be further configured to determine if the detectedangular displacement/continuous rotation is at least one angulardisplacement in the group including at least 90°, at least 60°, at least45°, and at least 30°.

Such filtering may be used to eliminate spurious rotational movementthat is generally classifiable as being unrelated to the motionstypically experienced by a person's forearm when the person looks at awristwatch. For example, when a person walks, they may swing their arms,which may cause the biometric sensors of a biometric monitoring deviceworn on the person's forearm to cyclically rotate about an axis parallelto the person's shoulder axis. Such rotation, however, would not involverotation about the person's forearm, however, and may thus be screenedout as an indicator of a watch-viewing position.

The biometric sensors used to determine whether the biometric monitoringdevice has experienced motion consistent with movements a person maymake to bring their forearm into a watch-viewing position may beselected from a wide variety of different sensor types, includingsingle-axis or multi-axis gyroscopes, single-axis or multi-axisaccelerometers, magnetometers, electromagnetic field sensors, laserrangefinder sensors, Doppler radar sensors, and altimeter sensors. Apair of spaced-apart tri-axial accelerometers may provide a particularlycost-effective mechanism for measuring 3-dimensional movements of abiometric monitoring device, and the data collected from such sensorsmay be sufficient for determining whether the biometric monitoringdevice has experienced motion consistent with movements a person maymake to bring their forearm into a watch-viewing position.

In some implementations, the determination as to whether the forearm onwhich the biometric monitoring device is worn has moved into awatch-viewing position may be performed using only data fromaccelerometers in the biometric monitoring device.

If the processor or processors determine in block 1606 that thebiometric monitoring device has not experienced rotation about at leastone axis, the technique may return to block 1602 and further biometricdata may be received and analyzed.

If the processor or processors determine in block 1606 that thebiometric monitoring device is in a watch-viewing position, then thetechnique may proceed to block 1608. In block 1608, the processor orprocessors may determine if the display of the biometric monitoringdevice is on or otherwise already displaying content. If not, then theprocessor or processors may cause the display to turn on, e.g., bysending a power-on signal to the display, in block 1610 beforeproceeding to block 1612. In block 1612, the processor or processors maycause a data display page showing a clock to be shown on the display. Inthis manner, the wearer of the biometric monitoring device need notperform any other actions to cause the display of the biometricmonitoring device to show the time other than those that the wearerwould generally do when checking a watch that always shows the time.This also allows the display of the biometric monitoring device to bepowered off most of the time and only powered on under certainconditions, e.g., such as when the wearer “checks” their watch/biometricmonitoring device.

Feedback Mechanism

The biometric monitoring device may be configured to communicate withthe user through one or more feedback mechanisms, or combinationsthereof, such as vibratory feedback, audio output, graphical output viaa display or light-emitting devices, e.g., LEDs. For example, uponstart, finish, or failure of the heart rate sensor in gatheringmomentary heart rate data, the biometric monitoring device may vibrateto notify the user about the different data gathering status usingdistinct vibration patterns. Additionally or alternatively, uponsuccessful gathering of heart rate data, the display may turn on andpresent heart rate related data, e.g., averaged heart rate, heart ratetarget goal reached, if the goal was previously reached one or moretimes on a different day, week, month, or year, and/or how long it tookto reach the goal, etc.

In some embodiments, the biometric monitoring device provides feedbackinformation to users in response to a single user-gesture. The singleuser-gesture can be a push of a button, an activator surface area,moving the device in a defined motion pattern, etc. as describedelsewhere in the disclosure.

In one implementation, the biometric monitoring device may have adisplay that changes what is shown, e.g., advances from one data displaypage to the next, after a user interaction occurs. In some embodiments,regardless of the information being displayed, the biometric monitoringdevice causes a heart rate sensor to start collecting heart rate datathrough a heart rate sensor surface area in response to an activator ofthe heart rate sensor receiving an activation signal caused by a singleuser-gesture. The device also presents the collected heart rate data orinformation derived therefrom on the display without requiring furtheruser-gesture in addition to the single user-gesture. In someembodiments, the activator receives an activation signal caused by atouch of a button, a touch at a touch sensitive area, or a finger placednear a proximity sensor.

In one implementation, a specific data type or set of data types may bepresented to the user with a data display page when the display firstturns on. Subsequent user inputs may cause the display to advancethrough a succession of different data display pages, each showingdifferent types of information. In some embodiments, if a user gestureis used to navigate between screens, there is at least one user gesturethat causes the device to take an HR measurement, regardless of whatscreen the device is displaying.

Power Saving Feature

As mentioned previously, biometric monitoring devices are typicallyquite small due to practical considerations. People who wish to monitortheir performance are unlikely to want to wear a large, bulky devicethat may interfere with their activities or that may look unsightly. Asa result, biometric monitoring devices are often provided in small formfactors to allow for light weight and ease of carrying. As mentionedpreviously, such small form factors often necessitate some designcompromises. For example, there may be limited space for displays,controls, and other components of the biometric monitoring device withinthe device housing. One system component that may be limited in size orperformance is the power source, e.g., a battery, capacitor, etc., ofthe biometric monitoring device. In many implementations, the biometricmonitoring device may be in an “always on” state to allow it tocontinually collect biometric data throughout the day and night. Giventhat the sensors and processor(s) of the biometric monitoring devicemust generally remain powered to some degree in order to collect thebiometric data, it may be advantageous to implement power-savingfeatures elsewhere in the device, e.g., such as by causing the displayto automatically turn off after a period of time, or by measuringcertain data such as heart rate data momentarily on demand indicated bya user-gesture. A typical user gesture may be provided by pressing abutton on the biometric monitoring device, flipping the biometricmonitoring device over and back, or double-tapping the housing of thebiometric monitoring device, touching a surface area, or placing a bodypart near a proximity sensor.

Generally speaking, the techniques and functions outlined above may beimplemented in a biometric monitoring device as machine-readableinstruction sets, either as software stored in memory, asapplication-specific integrated circuits, field-programmablegate-arrays, or other mechanisms for providing system control. Suchinstruction sets may be provided to a processor or processors of abiometric monitoring device to cause the processor or processors tocontrol other aspects of the biometric monitoring device to provide thefunctionality described above.

Unless the context (where the term “context” is used per its typical,general definition) of this disclosure clearly requires otherwise,throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,”“comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense asopposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in a senseof “including, but not limited to.” Words using the singular or pluralnumber also generally include the plural or singular numberrespectively. Additionally, the words “herein,” “hereunder,” “above,”“below,” and words of similar import refer to this application as awhole and not to any particular portions of this application. When theword “or” is used in reference to a list of two or more items, that wordcovers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of theitems in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination ofthe items in the list. The term “implementation” refers toimplementations of techniques and methods described herein, as well asto physical objects that embody the structures and/or incorporate thetechniques and/or methods described herein.

There are many concepts and implementations described and illustratedherein. While certain features, attributes and advantages of theimplementations discussed herein have been described and illustrated, itshould be understood that many others, as well as different and/orsimilar implementations, features, attributes and advantages of thepresent inventions, are apparent from the description and illustrations.As such, the above implementations are merely exemplary. They are notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the preciseforms, techniques, materials and/or configurations disclosed. Manymodifications and variations are possible in light of this disclosure.It is to be understood that other implementations may be utilized andoperational changes may be made without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure. As such, the scope of the disclosure is not limitedsolely to the description above because the description of the aboveimplementations has been presented for the purposes of illustration anddescription.

Importantly, the present disclosure is neither limited to any singleaspect nor implementation, nor to any single combination and/orpermutation of such aspects and/or implementations. Moreover, each ofthe aspects of the present disclosure, and/or implementations thereof,may be employed alone or in combination with one or more of the otheraspects and/or implementations thereof. For the sake of brevity, many ofthose permutations and combinations will not be discussed and/orillustrated separately herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: two or more biometricsensors comprising a heart rate sensor and an electromyographic sensor;a heart rate sensor surface area through which the heart rate sensor cancollect heart rate data from a user; at least one processor; and amemory, wherein: the heart rate sensor, the electromyographic sensor,the at least one processor, and the memory are communicativelyconnected, and the memory stores computer-executable instructions forcontrolling the at least one processor to cause the heart rate sensor tostart collecting heart rate data through the heart rate sensor surfacearea in response to the electromyographic sensor receiving an activationsignal caused by a single user-gesture.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the single user-gesture comprises clenching a fist with the handof an arm on which the apparatus is worn.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the memory further stores computer-executable instructions forcontrolling the at least one processor to provide user feedback withreference to the collected heart rate data without requiring a furtheruser-gesture in addition to the single user-gesture.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 3, wherein the user feedback with reference to the collected heartrate data comprises one or more of the following: average heart rate,minimum heart rate, maximum heart rate, heart rate variability, heartrate relative to target heart rate zone, heart rate relative to restingheart rate, change in heart rate, decrease in heart rate, increase inheart rate, training advice with reference to heart rate, and a medicalcondition with reference to heart rate.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the memory further stores computer-executable instructions forcontrolling the at least one processor to cause the heart rate sensor toautomatically stop collecting heart rate data after a defined criterionis met without requiring a further user gesture in addition to thesingle user-gesture.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the memoryfurther stores computer-executable instructions for controlling the atleast one processor to cause the heart rate sensor to remain in a statethat does not collect heart rate data, after the heart rate sensor stopscollecting heart rate data, until another activation signal caused by anew single user-gesture is received.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the apparatus is configured to be wearable as a wrist-band. 8.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heart rate sensor comprises anoptical sensor for the visible light spectrum.
 9. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the heart rate sensor comprises an optical sensor forinfrared light.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heart ratesensor comprises a photoplethysmograph (PPG) sensor or pulse oximetrysensor.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the two or more biometricsensors further comprises one or more sensors selected from the groupconsisting of: GPS sensors, proximity sensors, gyroscopic sensors,magnetometers, accelerometers, ambient light sensors, touch screensensors, temperature sensors, galvanic skin response sensors,fingerprint reader sensors, pressure transducers, force transducers,audio sensors, bioelectrical impedance sensors, blood pressure sensors,moisture sensors, blood glucose sensors, and any combinations thereof.12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a motion sensorproviding motion data to compensate for disruptions caused by armmovements that would otherwise interfere with the heart rate data. 13.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus has two or more heartrate sensors.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a displayfor providing visual feedback to the user.
 15. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the memory also stores computer-executable instructions forcontrolling the at least one processor to show information selected fromthe group consisting of: calorie burn, floors climbed and/or descended,location and/or heading, elevation, ambulatory speed and/or distancetraveled, swimming lap count, bicycle distance and/or speed, bloodpressure, blood glucose, skin conduction, skin and/or body temperature,electromyography data, electroencephalography data, weight, body fat,caloric intake, nutritional intake from food, medication intake, sleepperiods, sleep phases, sleep quality and/or duration, pH levels,hydration levels, and respiration rate, barometric pressure,temperature, humidity, pollen count, air quality, rain/snow conditions,wind speed, ambient light, UV light exposure, time and/or duration spentin darkness, noise exposure, radiation exposure, and magnetic field. 16.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the memory further storescomputer-executable instructions for controlling the at least oneprocessor to provide feedback to the user indicating that heart ratedata collection has started.
 17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thememory further stores computer-executable instructions for controllingthe at least one processor to provide feedback to the user indicatingthat heart rate data collection was successful.
 18. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the memory further stores computer-executableinstructions for controlling the at least one processor to providefeedback to the user indicating that heart rate data collection hasended.
 19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the memory further storescomputer-executable instructions for controlling the at least oneprocessor to provide feedback to the user indicating that heart ratedata collection has failed to complete.
 20. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the apparatus is configured to authenticate the user based onthe collected heart rate data.